Neymar denies rape accusation, calls it 'extortion'
Neymar has denied an accusation that he raped a woman in a Paris hotel room in May.
According to police documents that were obtained by the New York Times and The Associated Press, among other media outlets, the unidentified woman said the alleged assault took place on May 15 in the French capital.
The woman went to police in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday to report the incident.
Hours after the allegations against him went public, Neymar posted a seven-minute video on Instagram, denying any wrongdoing. He also accused the woman of attempting to extort him.
The video was accompanied by the caption: "Because of extortion, I am being forced to expose my life and family."
"There was a relationship between a man and a woman between four walls," Neymar says in the video. "On the next day, nothing happened. I hope investigators read the messages and see what happened."
During the video, the 27-year-old posted what he claims are a series of WhatsApp messages between himself and the woman, including multiple intimate photos.
The first messages shown in Neymar's video are from March 11, while the final visible messages are dated May 16 - the day after the incident detailed in the police report took place.
The woman, according to the aforementioned police documents, said she met the Brazilian footballer in Paris after exchanging messages with him on Instagram. She told police that one of the player's representatives bought her ticket to the capital city and booked a hotel room for her.
She told police that Neymar arrived, apparently drunk, at 8 p.m., before forcing her to have sex without her consent 20 minutes later.
The police document reportedly said they "touched each other, but in a given moment Neymar became aggressive and, with violence, had sexual intercourse against the victim's will."
Responding to the allegations on Brazilian television, Neymar's father and agent, Neymar Sr., said he has evidence that his son is being blackmailed, according to ESPN. He said he has both photos and witnesses to corroborate his claim, although he showed neither during the interview.
"I know that my son can be accused of many things, but I know the boy that he is, the man that he is, the son of a father and a mother," Neymar Sr. said. "We will push for justice to be served as quickly as possible."