David de Gea refutes allegations over private life

Simon Foster 00:19 11/06/2016
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  • Serious allegations: De Gea.

    David De Gea has described allegations about his private life that appeared in the Spanish press on Friday as “lies”.

    The Manchester United goalkeeper, 25, had reportedly been sent home from Spain’s Euro 2016 training base after the allegations emerged in El Diario.

    De Gea remains in France, however, and pledged to focus on training with the European champions ahead of their opening game against the Czech Republic.

    He appeared at a press conference in Saint-Martin-de-Re to address the matter on Friday afternoon, saying: “I’m more surprised than anyone by this news. I want to deny it. It is a lie and a falsehood.

    “It gives me more reason to stay with Spain, in the company of my team-mates. It’s in the hands of my lawyers. I’m very calm. I’m just looking forward to going out to train and enjoying myself,” he added at the press conference, which was broadcast live on Periscope.

    “I’ve no idea where this has come from. I know it’s all false.”

    De Gea and Athletic Bilbao’s Iker Muniain were named in the testimony of a “protected witness” as part of an ongoing investigation into Spanish film producer Ignacio Allende Fernandez—better known as Torbe. The producer was detained in April for alleged crimes including heading a prostitution ring, sexual abuse of underage girls and human trafficking.

    The witness reportedly said she and another woman were forced against against their will to participate in a party in 2012 organised by De Gea, while Athletic Bilbao forward Muniain was also implicated.

    Muniain, 23, defended himself on Twitter.

    He said: “Following the reports published today about myself I want to state: 1 – That the claims made are absolutely false. 2 – That in the coming days I will appoint a lawyer to defend my honour. 3 – I hope that those fans who have supported me on the field will trust in me at this time.”

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