Villarreal midfielder Thomas Partey appeared in a London courtroom on Wednesday and denied rape and sexual assault allegations against three women.
The Ghanaian midfielder entered not guilty pleas to five charges of rape and one charge of sexual assault when he appeared at Southwark Crown Court.
The offences allegedly took place between 2021 and 2022, when the 32-year-old played regularly in the Premier League.
He was charged four days after he left the north London club, when his contract expired at the end of June.
The offences allegedly took place when Partey played for Premier League football club Arsenal. He left the club this summer to sign for Spain's Villarreal.
The 32-year-old appeared in the Southwark Crown Court dock and only replied to confirm his name and date of birth and to make his not guilty pleas.
He was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59.2 million) in 2020 and was a permanent fixture in the English team's first choice, before his contract expired at the end of June.
Partey was in London this week, not only for his court appearance but also for Villarreal's Champions League match against Tottenham Hotspur.
He featured in the game on Tuesday night, then returned to court in the capital the following morning for the next hearing.
He came on for a Villarreal substitute after an hour and was loudly kicked by the Spurs supporters every time he received the ball.
The former Arsenal player was released on bail to await trial, which was set on November 2, 2026 and was likely to take between six to eight weeks.
