Cristiano Ronaldo's lawyers move to have alleged rape case dismissed or settled

Cristiano Ronaldo's lawyers have filed court documents asking a US judge in Las Vegas to either dismiss a Nevada woman's lawsuit alleging the football star raped her in 2009, or to order closed-door settlement talks.

Lawyers representing Ronaldo's accuser, Kathryn Mayorga, who waived her right to anonymity, did not immediately respond to the two recent court filings about her lawsuit stemming from a 2010 confidentiality agreement and US $375,000 hush-money payment.

Ronaldo's lawyer in Las Vegas, Peter Christiansen, also declined to comment about the documents he filed on October 14.

"Mr Ronaldo has always maintained that this was a consensual encounter," said the filing seeking dismissal of the case.

A companion document also filed on October 14 in US District court asked the judge to order out-of-court talks to settle the lawsuit.

Ms Mayorga alleges conspiracy, defamation, breach of contract, coercion and fraud, with her lawyers wanting to void the 2010 deal and collect at least US $200,000 more from Ronaldo.

Ms Mayorga's lawyers also maintain she did not break the confidentiality pledge, and accuse Ronaldo or his associates of allowing reports of it to appear in European publications in 2017.

The footballer's lawyers have said the information was among electronic data hacked, stolen and sold by cybercriminals, and that Ms Mayorga's lawsuit is being used to damage Ronaldo's reputation.

Ms Mayorga's lawsuit said she met Ronaldo at a nightclub and went with him and other people to his suite at the Palms Hotel and Casino, where he assaulted her in a bedroom - claims Ronaldo vehemently denies.

Las Vegas police last year re-investigated the rape allegation, but no criminal charge was filed, with the local elected prosecutor stating there was not enough evidence to take the 10-year-old case to trial.

A federal judge in Las Vegas has not set a hearing date on Ronaldo's bid to stop the court case.