"2018 was possibly the hardest year for me. Not professionally, but personally. When people question your honour, it hurts," the Portuguese star said in an interview from his home in Turin, Italy, to TVI TV station, which was broadcast on 20 August.

He added: "It was probably the hardest [year] I had. When they play against your honour it's hard. But once again, I was proven innocent."

Ronaldo was directly confronted with the lawsuit in the United States for alleged violation of Kathryn Mayorga 10 years ago, which ended about a month after the US court dropped the charges because they cannot be proven.

"My friends and family knew that I was innocent, but it was very hard," acknowledged the 'team' captain, ensuring that he was able to 'turn off' personal problems when it was time to get on the pitch.

The Clark County Attorney General's Office decided on 22 July not to charge Cristiano Ronaldo for violation of Kathryn Mayorga, claiming that the evidence against the Portuguese international footballer was not unambiguous.

"The Clark County Prosecutor's Office has announced that it has dismissed the violation charge against Cristiano Ronaldo for acts 10 years ago," said the statement issued by the Clark County Prosecutor's Office on social networks.

In the same document, the prosecutor's office stated that "given the available information, allegations of violation against Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be proved because they are not unambiguous" and "no further charges will be made."

Last September Kathryn Mayorga, born in 1984, filed a complaint against Cristiano Ronaldo for a crime that was allegedly committed in 2009.

The case was reopened after the woman presented new information about the alleged violation, collaborating with the authorities in the investigation. In the US state of Nevada, sexual offenses are not statute-barred provided they have been properly reported to the authorities.

Cristiano Ronaldo's defence has always said that what happened between the footballer and Mayorga was consensual.