Ronaldo set to be cleared Friday, November 18, 2005
Innocent - Ronaldo
Manchester United midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo is set to be cleared over allegations that he raped a woman in a hotel suite, according to a report.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is expected to announce "within days" that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute the Portugal international winger, London's Evening Standard said.
The CPS insisted that no final decision had been made on whether or not to bring charges in relation to the case.
Ronaldo, 20, was questioned for several hours over the allegations last month after voluntarily attending a police station in Manchester.
The star told police officers he was completely innocent and he was bailed to return pending further inquiries.
Initially, two women made an allegation of rape, claiming that Ronaldo and another man took them back to a penthouse suite in the Sanderson Hotel in London on October 2 after they met at a nightspot.
One of the women later withdrew her allegations.
A CPS spokeswoman said its lawyers were continuing to review the case in relation to allegations by one woman and that no final decision had been reached.
A decision is not thought to be likely before next week at the earliest.
A Scotland Yard spokesman added: "We can confirm a file has been sent to the CPS and we await their decision."
The claims followed a series of high-profile cases involving sex allegations against footballers.
In September last year, two Premiership players were interviewed over an alleged gang rape at the Grosvenor House hotel in London.
The Crown Prosecution Service later decided there was insufficient evidence for them to be charged.
Also last year, three Leicester City players faced allegations of sexually assaulting three women in a five-star hotel on a training camp in Spain.
They spent six nights in jail there but all charges against them were dropped.
In January last year, rape charges were dropped against ex-Chelsea player Jody Morris and a friend after they were accused of raping a woman in Leeds.
Arsenal's Dutch striker Robin van Persie was held in jail in Rotterdam earlier this year after being accused of rape. He was released after two weeks and maintains his innocence.
