13th December 2024
December 13 – An investigation into alleged rape and sexual assault which Swedish media said targeted Real Madrid’s French superstar Kylian Mbappe has been closed due to insufficient evidence.
Mbappe, one of the highest-profile players in world football, visited the Swedish capital October 9-11 with a group of people after he was left out of his country’s squad for a Nations League match.
Sweden’s prosecution authority announced on October 15 that it was investigating an alleged incident that occurred at a Stockholm hotel on October 10, without mentioning the suspect by name. Several Swedish media outlets identified Mbappe as the person concerned.
In a statement Thursday, lead investigator Marina Chirakova said there was not enough evidence to continue the investigation into the allegation.
“During the course of the investigation, there has been a designated person suspected on reasonable grounds of rape and two cases of sexual assault, but my assessment is that the evidence is not sufficient to proceed and the investigation is therefore closed,” Chirakova said. “The designated person has not been notified of suspicion of a crime.”
“I confirm,” Mbappe’s lawyer, Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard, wrote in a text message when asked by Reuters whether the Swedish investigation of the football player had been shut.
Swedish public broadcaster SVT and dailies Expressen and Aftonbladet, citing unnamed sources, had reported in October that Mbappe was the suspect in the case. Mbappe’s representatives said at the time the allegations against him were “totally false” and “a slanderous rumour”.
Mbappe has had a difficult season since moving to reigning European champions Real Madrid from Paris St Germain in the summer.
However he scored in Madrid’s 3-2 win against Atalanta on Tuesday which revived their flagging bid to regain their Champions League title.
In an interview aired Sunday on French TV station Canal Plus, Mbappé said he was “surprised” by the reports that he was the subject of a rape investigation and that he had not been contacted by Swedish authorities.
“These are things that come into your life like that, you can’t see them coming,” Mbappé told Canal Plus. “It’s just incomprehension. I don’t think it weighed on me in the sense that I have never considered myself involved.”
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