Spanish police will take no further action against Manchester United keeper David De Gea, after he was accused of being involved in a sexual assault.
De Gea’s place in Spain’s Euro 2016 squad appeared to be under threat after the story broke in the days before the tournament got underway earlier this summer, with the accusations against the United star dating back to an incident in 2012.
“I want to refute these allegations. These are lies and mistruths,” De Gea said in a stern statement issued last June.
“The first person who was surprised by this news story was me. It’s a lie. The matter remains in the hands of my lawyers. It is all false.”
Now police have thrown out the case, due to a lack of evidence and suggestions that the accuser has too many holes in her credibility for it to stand up in a trial.
Spanish newspaper Interviu has reported that the investigation – in which De Gea was never questioned – has collapsed and the 25-year-old has been informed that there will be no charges made after several weeks of scrutiny.
It is claimed that the accuser exchanged good-natured messages with De Gea in the days following the alleged incident, while it has also emerged that she attempted to sell her story to newspapers alleging she was involved in group sex activity with the footballer that was entirely consensual.
De Gea’s girlfriend Edurne Garcia has remained loyal to the footballer she has been dating since 2010 and he