The ways Italy has found to prove that its new adoptive son must be innocent of the rape allegations being levelled against him appear to know no bounds.

A commentator for Il Giornale, a newspaper owned by the Berlusconi family, concluded on the basis of an analysis of Cristiano Ronaldo's signature that he was 'ambitious and determined but in harmony with himself'.

Corriere della Sera has written of 'leftist feminist militants'. Natali Aspesi said in the Huffington Post that she could not see someone as rich and handsome committing such a crime.

The huge images of Ronaldo modelling underwear currently adorning sites in Turin give the impression of a club convinced that none of this mud will possibly stick. He is 'più forte del fango' ('stronger than mud') said Tuttosport recently.

'Suddenly you see people walking around London in Juventus tops,' said Londra Bianconera director Marco Bagni. 'You rarely saw one before this summer.'

But this is not the only reason why the player's new black and white shirt looks heavy. His arrival has coincided with Juventus putting up season ticket prices by an unprecedented 30 per cent, with replica Ronaldo shirts retailing for up to nearly £90.