Rape investigation into Mbappé closed down by Swedish media

Prosecutors in Sweden have closed their investigation into an alleged rape case that Swedish media linked to French football captain Kylian Mbappe.

Marina Chirkova of the Swedish Prosecution Authority said the investigation into the alleged attack in Stockholm had been ended due to lack of evidence.

One of football’s most high-profile stars, the Real Madrid player was never formally named by Swedish prosecutors or reported by them as being under suspicion of a crime.

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

Senior prosecutor Ms Chirkova, who led the initial investigation, considered the evidence “not sufficient to proceed further, and therefore the investigation has been closed”.

The two cases of alleged rape and sexual assault reportedly took place on October 10 at 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 was on a visit to Stockholm at that time.

Police were seen visiting the bank hotel where he was staying, with officers later leaving with the bag. A report said that they had taken clothes from the hotel as evidence.

On Sunday, speaking for the first time about the case on the French TV show Click, Mbappé said he was “not involved in it”.

“I didn’t get anything, no subpoena… I’m not involved in this.”

His The lawyer had earlier criticized the Swedish media Called the report libelous and said nothing was known about the complaint.

“(Mbappé) is never alone. He is never put in a situation where he has to take risks,” said Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard.

Real Madrid ahead this week Scored his 50th Champions League goalHe transferred to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) earlier this year.

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

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

Last year, the Paris-born star finished third for the Ballon d’Or and Best FIFA Men’s Player awards.