Sports agent Jonathan Barnett has been accused of rape in a US lawsuit.

Barnett is accused in a civil complaint which was lodged on Wednesday in Los Angeles.

Before he retired last year, his high-profile clients included players such as Gareth Bale, Jack Grealish and Ashley Cole.

An unnamed woman referred to as “Jane Doe” says she was trafficked to the UK in 2017.

“Jane Doe” is also suing Creative Artists Agency, and CAA Stellar, where Barnett was executive chairman.

In 2020, Barnett sold Stellar Group to Hollywood talent agency ICM Partners. ICM later merged with rival CAA, in a deal completed in 2022 that brought together two of the world’s biggest agencies.

A statement from a spokesperson for CAA, who Barnett left in February 2024, read: “We first learned of Ms Doe’s allegations via a press inquiry in January 2024 and settlement demands from her lawyer.

“While the complaint attempts to connect these allegations to CAA’s business, Ms Doe has never been an employee, consultant, or contractor of CAA, ICM, or Stellar, nor has she ever had any business connection to CAA, ICM, or Stellar.

“CAA takes any allegations of this nature seriously, and through counsel, promptly urged Ms Doe to contact law enforcement in the United Kingdom. Mr Barnett exited Stellar in February 2024.”

A statement on behalf of Barnett from his lawyers read: “We will vigorously defend this lawsuit through the appropriate legal process. I am looking forward to being entirely vindicated and exonerated.”