Thomas Partey, the Ghanaian international and former Arsenal midfielder, has been charged with two additional counts of rape, prosecutors said Wednesday, expanding a case that already includes multiple allegations of sexual assault.
The new charges stem from a report filed in August and relate to an alleged incident in 2020. They follow a Metropolitan Police investigation that began in February 2022, when officers first received a complaint of rape. Partey, 32, is scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on March 13 for a preliminary hearing.
The midfielder was previously charged in July with five counts of rape involving two women, as well as a sexual assault against a third woman. He pleaded not guilty to those charges at Southwark Crown Court in September and was released on conditional bail. The trial in that case is set to begin on Nov. 2 under a High Court judge.
“The defendant denies all the charges against him and welcomes the opportunity to finally clear his name,” his lawyer, Jenny Wiltshire, said in a statement.
The earlier allegations concern incidents between 2021 and 2022, during Partey’s tenure at Arsenal. He was charged just days after leaving the Premier League club, when his contract expired at the end of June. Partey joined Arsenal from Atlético Madrid in October 2020 for £45.3 million and made 130 league appearances under manager Mikel Arteta.
Since departing England, Partey has signed a one-year deal with Villarreal in Spain. The club confirmed the move in the summer, after the player had already been charged in the London case.
With the new charges, Partey now faces accusations of sexual offenses involving four women.
