Gareth Bale and Jack Grealish agent accused of ‘trafficking, torture and & rape’

Leading football agent, Jonathan Barnett, has been accused of human trafficking, torture and rape.

According to a report from The Guardian, Barnett is being sued in an American court after a civil complaint was filed against him.

It is alleged that Barnett “trafficked” the woman from Australia to the UK in 2017.

He “tortured” her for six years by keeping her as a “sex slave” and sexually assaulted her, including by rape, more than 39 times, as well as making “repeated threats to her life and the lives of her minor children”.

We are proud to represent Jane Doe v CAA, Stellar & Jonathan Barnett Leading football agent denies claims he 'raped a sex slave' https://t.co/kmY4o0T3iH

— Tamara Holder (@tamaraholder) July 4, 2025

Barnett’s former employer, the Hollywood talent group Creative Artists Agency, is also facing allegations in the same complaint that it “used its employees and emissaries to assist Barnett in keeping the complainant as his ‘sex slave”.

“The claims made in [the] complaint against me have no basis in reality and are untrue,” Barnett said in a statement through his lawyers.

“We will vigorously defend this lawsuit through the appropriate legal process. I am looking forward to being entirely vindicated and exonerated.”

The 75-year-old, who retired last year, is a popular football agent who is best known for brokering Gareth Bale’s world record £85.3m transfer from Tottenham to Real Madrid in 2013.

Barnett has also represented a host of other top players, including Jack Grealish and Ivan Toney.

“This is a case about institutional abuse at the highest level,” the complaint reads.

“This case is about how one of the world’s most powerful men in sports openly kept a sex slave for years, with the assistance of his employees, accountants, emissaries and family members, and used his money and power to maintain coercive control over her and keep her in fear for her life and the lives of her children.”

An anonymous woman referred to as Jane Doe alleges that Barnett raped her in their first meeting at a central London hotel, telling her that he “owned” her and would kill her if she reported him.