Franck Ribery's lawyer admitted on Thursday that police questioned the Bayern Munich player on Nov. 26 as a witness as part of an investigation into the procurement of prostitutes.
Ribery, 32, was interviewed in Bobigny, outside Paris, over allegations that an acquaintance of his was paid €15,000 to procure women for a weekend in Germany.
It comes almost two years after both Ribery and France teammate Karim Benzema were acquitted of charges of soliciting an underage prostitute in an unrelated case.
There is no suggestion that Ribery was accused of any wrongdoing, though the player's lawyer Carlo Alberto Brusa confirmed that his client did speak to investigators.
"I confirm that he was heard in an ordinary way, as a witness, to get clarification on situations that concerned a case in which he is not in any way involved in," he told RMC radio. "Mr Ribery left completely at liberty.
"He was heard for two and a half hours, he responded to the questions and there is no problem, no difficulty, with any kind of offence."
In a statement, Brusa condemned the "insidious way" the information had been presented and later told RMC that he would be taking legal action against "defamatory" comments made about his client.
He also explained why the former France international had spoken to police, telling L'Equipe that that a friend of Ribery's -- an ex-professional footballer -- had also been questioned in connection with the investigation.
"You can be heard to explain yourself or to give information when you're a known person and you could have relations with this or that individual," Brusa told RMC.
"The police wanted to know what the connection was that could have existed between Mr Ribery and this or that person, who could have been implicated in an affair of this nature.
"The simple fact of knowing someone is not, in itself, a criminal offence."