Former Barcelona star David Villa calls sexual harassment allegations 'entirely false'

A woman who goes by the name Skyler B took to Twitter to accuse retired Spanish striker David Villa of sexual harassment. She says the incidents occurred while she was an intern at New York City Football Club (NYCFC). In response, the world-renowned footballer released a statement to deny the accusations.

"The harassment I went through at NYCFC was so bad that now the idea of professional sports terrifies me. Staying in the field of athletics terrifies me. I'm changing my entire career because the s**t they did to me ruined my dreams," read the initial tweet on Skyler B's page.

She followed it up with a direct accusation against the former Spain international. "I thought I was getting the opportunity of a life time when I got that internship. What I got was David Villa touching me every f***ing day and my bosses thinking it was great comedic material," she continued.

Spanish football publication Marca published Villa's statement which read, "I strongly object to the accusations made about me on Twitter. These accusations are entirely false and I deny them."

Villa further claims that he was never contacted about these allegations neither by Skyler B nor by NYCFC. He says that prior to the Twitter posts, he has never heard of the accusations. Villa played with the club for four years and left in 2018. Meanwhile, his accuser claims that she was an intern there until 2019.

Villa also said that he had a pleasant stint with NYCFC, where he felt "extraordinary respect" from those associated with the club. "It's hard to understand why this was not raised previously if anyone felt uncomfortable at any time while with the club. I repeat, these accusations are totally false," he continued.

The former FC Barcelona star also threw shade at his accuser, implying that her "false accusations" are undermining the plight of those who are true victims of harassment. He further asked the media and the public to respect his right to "the presumption of innocence in this matter." He also revealed that his legal team is already working on addressing the charges.