Benjamin Mendy sues Man City for up to £10m in unpaid wages after his former club stopped paying his £100,000-a-week salary when defender was charged with rape and sexual assault before being cleared

The French defender was suspended by City in September 2021 after being charged with rape. He faced a lengthy trial and in January of this year he was cleared of six counts of rape and one of sexual assault. On July 14, he was found not guilty of one count of rape and one of attempted rape. Shortly after being cleared, Mendy joined Lorient as a free agent. He has made three appearances for the Ligue 1 side.

Mendy is suing City for between £9 million and £10 million ($11-12m), according to Daily Mail journalist Jack Gaughan. Mendy was barred from entering Greater Manchester due to the conditions of his bail, which prevented him from training or playing for City. The club told Mendy they would not pay him after the trial concluded.

A statement from Nick De Marco KC read: “Nick De Marco KC (instructed by Laffer Abogados Madrid) is acting for the former Manchester City player Benjamin Mendy in a multi-million pound claim for unauthorised deductions from wages.

“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."

City, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment from GOAL, are set to be taken to an employment trial by Mendy in the coming weeks.