Iker Muniain, David De Gea Implicated in 2012 Sexual Assault Case

Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea and Athletic Bilbao attacking midfielder Iker Muniain have been named in a sexual assault case regarding a 2012 incident, according to Spanish source El Diario (h/t Chris Deeley of Yahoo Sport).

The Spanish pair have been accused by an unnamed witness currently testifying against one Ignacio Fernandez Allende, also dubbed Torbe, who is jailed on charges ranging from human trafficking for sexual exploitation, sexual assault and child pornography.

"The first person who was surprised by this news story was me. It's a lie," said De Gea in a press conference, via AS on Twitter, and the goalkeeper added "I'm the first to be surprised by the news. I want to deny it. It's a lie and it's false. Nothing more."

"I never thought about leaving [the national team]. It gives me more strength to train even harder," said De Gea, per Spanish football expert Guillem Balague.

De Gea won't be sent home and will remain with Spain for the Euro 2016, according to Sky Sports.

Isco, whose name came up in the original report, released a statement with a similar sentiment, via Lucas Navarrete of Marca:

Knowing that my name has appeared in several reports during the last few hours, I want to state that I was not involved in any way on those things being reported. I am not aware of what happened and I never was. I asked my lawyers to do everything on their hand so that it's clear that my name being mentioned was a big mistake and a great injustice.

Breaking down the allegations, Deeley described how the witness said she was assaulted by Muniain and an "unnamed player" after Torbe forced her into a sexual transaction De Gea is said to have initiated:

It is claimed that United keeper De Gea was the person who called Torbe to arrange the meeting, with the woman reporting that they kept in touch afterwards in an effort to keep her quiet.  De Gea is also said to have tried to arrange another encounter with five United players, but there is no proof that this meeting ever took place.

According to Spanish publication Marca, another woman was said to be involved in the alleged assault, after which threats were made to try to keep the matter quiet:

Both the other girl, as well as TP3 [the codename given to the protected witness] were sexually assaulted by the men, as they were physically assaulted by both if they refused.

After finishing with the sexual desires of these footballers, they made threats so that what happened in that hotel room would never come to light.

The report in Marca also cited comments from El Diario stating the police investigating the incident attribute a "high degree of credibility" to the witness' statement.