Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi, who is being investigated over an alleged rape, said he has “peace of mind” and expects to be cleared of the accusations.
Last month, French prosecutors called for the 26-year-old Morocco international to face trial over the allegations that he raped a 24-year-old woman that he had met over social media.
“I know that what I am accused of is a lie,” Hakimi told journalist Mouloud Achour in an interview for the “Clique” show to be aired on Canal+, a clip of which was broadcast on Wednesday night.
“I know that I have not done anything and that I would never do that,” the Madrid-born Hakimi said in Spanish.
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“Today, I have peace of mind…. hoping that the truth will soon be revealed.”
Hakimi, who helped Morocco to their historic progress to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, was charged in March, 2023 with raping the woman.
Hakimi allegedly paid for his accuser to travel to his home on February 25, 2023, in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt while his wife, from whom he has since divorced, and children were away on holiday.
The woman went to a police station following the encounter alleging rape and was questioned by police.
Although the woman refused to make a formal accusation, prosecutors decided to press charges against the player.
Hakimi insists that he is the victim of an extortion attempt.
On August 1, the Nanterre prosecutor’s office told AFP that they had requested that the investigating judge refer the rape charge to a criminal court.
“Nothing in the case lends in any way to a characterising of extortion,” the alleged victim’s lawyer Rachel-Flore Pardo told AFP on Thursday.
“Mr Hakimi is trying to create a counter-fire that we are used to in cases of sexual violence.”
Hakimi has continued to play for PSG and his country since the allegations first surfaced, even winning the Champions League with the Qatari-owned French club in May.