Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has recently been accused of rape by American model, Kathryn Mayorga. Ronaldo, considered the greatest soccer player of all time by many, has said that he does not remember anything happening, but, according to CNN, he said that he, “was sorry and that he is normally a gentleman.”

Cristiano currently plays striker for the Italian giants, Juventus, after a $117 million transfer from the Spanish team, Real Madrid, over the summer. This transfer has affected both teams greatly as Juventus are off to their best start in the Serie A ever, and Ronaldo’s previous club, Real Madrid, has gotten off to their worst start ever, which was culminated by being decimated 5-1 by their biggest rivals, Barcelona.

This accusation dates back to 2009, when Ronaldo and Mayorga met at a Las Vegas club, and the two later made their way to Ronaldo’s penthouse suite. In the months following when the incident initially occured, Ronaldo payed Mayorga $375,000 for her cooperation and silence upon the matter. Recently, the model has brought this case back into the light and her lawyers are saying that he took advantage of her at a vulnerable state, which was why she accepted the money.

After the case was reopened, Cristiano took to Twitter and according to TheSun, said that “I firmly deny these accusations against me. Rape is an abominable crime and goes against everything I work for.”

Another reason Mayorga was hesitant to identify Cristiano to the police was that she feared public humiliation for accusing one of the biggest sports stars on the planet. The Guardian reports that one of Mayorga’s lawyers stated that on why she decided to bring this case back up was because of the #MeToo movement, in which women are more empowered to speak up against rapists, no matter how popular they are.

While this claim is a large issue to Cristiano’s club Juventus, many fans of the sport believe that it will not have an impact on his career. Junior Matt Dolliver says, “His career on the field is impossible to hurt because of all the great things he has done, but this does hurt his reputation, regardless of whether or not he is convicted.” With his status as one of the best athletes ever, even something as serious as a rape accusation may not affect what happens to Ronaldo on the pitch. Freshman Joey Wilner believes “Ronaldo is already so famous that this should not affect him much and he will be able to pay off whatever he must.” Unless the outcome of this case is jail time, it is safe to say that Ronaldo will be continuing his career on the pitch for Juventus and Portugal.

One of the main controversies regarding this case is the fact that the allegations came out over nine years ago. Sophomore Shane White admits that “because this claim happened so long ago it does affect the legitimacy of it, maybe people do not remember what happened and events could possibly be fabricated.” Senior Kate Wilkinson says that one reason Mayorga may have come out with this information now is because “the MeToo movement takes more notice of women who come forward, and makes this more socially acceptable to be vocal about.”

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most influential people in the world, and while this allegation may not directly affect his career, its outcome could be a step in the right direction, and towards a more just society.