Espanyol player under investigation amid sexual assault allegations

Espanyol have been riding the wave of Friday’s incredible 4-0 victory at Rayo Vallecano, but they have been brought back down to Earth in the last 24 hours as one of the players involved at Vallecas is facing a serious personal issue.

Alvaro Aguado was introduced as a 83rd minute substitute in the weekend’s win in the Spanish capital, and he produced a late assist for Pere Milla to score Espanyol’s fourth. Less than 96 hours later, and he has now been placed under investigation after being accused of sexual assault.

As per El Pais (via Relevo), Aguado was reported to the authorities recently following an incident at a nightclub in Barcelona that took place back in June 2024 during Espanyol’s celebrations after securing their promotion back to La Liga, which came after a 2-0 victory over Real Oviedo in the Segunda play-off final at the RCDE Stadium. The alleged victim is reported to be a worker at the Catalan club.

It was the Catalan police that the incident was reported to, and now, the court has decided to open an investigation into the matter. They have summoned Aguado for questioning, and his testimony will be heard in mid-May, with the 28-year-old said to “strongly deny having committed any crime”.

As per the report, Espanyol have given a response on the matter, stating that “the right to the presumption of innocence of the player be respected”. As such, it is expected that Aguado will remain in first team contention, and at the disposal of head coach Manolo Gonzalez, for the time being.

News of Aguado’s case comes weeks after former Barcelona and Sevilla defender Dani Alves was acquitted in his own sexual assault trial after a successful appeal, although that matter is not quite closed yet as the prosecution is expected to file their own appeal against that decision.