Swedish investigation closed for rape linked to a footballer

Sweden’s public prosecutor’s office has closed an investigation into a case of alleged rape, which Swedish media had linked to French soccer captain Kylian Mbappé.

Marina Chirakova of the Swedish Prosecutor’s Office said the investigation into an alleged attack that was reported to have taken place in Stockholm had ended due to a lack of evidence.

The Real Madrid player, one of football’s most prominent stars, was never formally named by Swedish prosecutors or notified by them that he was under suspicion of a crime.

In October, when the allegations emerged, Mbappé’s lawyer said his client was preparing to clear his name with a defamation lawsuit. Mbappé previously described the reports as “fake news”.

Senior prosecutor Ms Chirakova, who led the preliminary investigation, found the evidence “not sufficient to proceed further and the investigation is therefore closed”.

The alleged rape and two cases of sexual harassment took place on October 10 in a hotel in the Swedish capital.

Several Swedish media outlets, including newspapers Aftonbladet and Expressen, and public broadcaster SVT, named Mbappé as a suspect.

He had been visiting Stockholm at the time.

Police were seen visiting the Bank Hotel where he had been staying, with officers later leaving with bags. A report said they had taken clothes from the hotel as evidence.

Speaking for the first time about the case on French TV show Clique on Sunday, Mbappé said he was “not involved”.

“I have not received anything, no subpoena… I am not involved.”

his The lawyer previously condemned the Swedish media reports as defamatory and said nothing was known about the complaint.

“(Mbappé) is never alone. He never puts himself in a position where he ends up in a situation that leads him to take a risk,” said Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard.

Real Madrid striker this week scored his 50th Champions League goal. At the beginning of the year he transferred from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

He won the 2018 World Youth Cup in Russia and scored a hat-trick in the 2022 finals in Qatar, which France lost on penalties to Lionel Messi’s Argentina.

At PSG, he was part of a superstar trio with Messi and Brazilian striker Neymar.

Last year, the Paris-born star finished third in the Ballon d’Or and FIFA best player awards.