French defender Benjamin Mendy has launched a lawsuit against Premier League champions Manchester City over unpaid multi-million-pounds wages after being charged with rape and sexual assault.
According to Sky Sports, the 29-year-old France international is taking Manchester City to an employment tribunal in a bid to recoup some of his “unauthorised deductions from wages” after he was charged with rape and sexual assault two years ago.
In July 2021, Mendy was found not guilty by a jury in a retrial at Chester Crown Court after being charged with rape and sexual assault and Man City stopped paying him his wages.
Mendy was cleared of the rape and attempted rape charges and left City when his contract expired in June 2023. Mendy claimed Man City stopped paying his wages in September 2021 after he was initially charged and held in custody.
“Nick De Marco KC is acting for the former Manchester City player Benjamin Mendy in a multi-million-pound claim for unauthorised deductions from wages,” a statement on behalf of Mendy told Sky Sports.
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“Manchester City FC failed to pay Mr Mendy any wages at all from September 2021, following Mr Mendy being charged with various offences all of which he was subsequently acquitted of, until the end of his contract in June 2023. The claim will come before an employment tribunal.”
Sky Sports adds that Manchester City declined to respond when approached for comment.
Mendy signed for City in 2017 from Monaco in a £52million deal, making him the Premier League’s most expensive defender at the time.
While at the Etihad Stadium, he lifted three Premier League titles and was part of France’s World Cup-winning squad in 2018.
Mendy now plays for Lorient in Ligue 1, where he has made three appearances.
Mendy, who was reportedly paid around £100,000 per week by City, is seeking the return of pay he is owed up until the end of his contract with the treble winners.
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