After being exonerated in sexual assault verdicts, the Frenchman claimed wages the England team had withheld while he faced legal proceedings.
Benjamin Mendy has obtained a favorable judgment in his lawsuit against Manchester City, which must pay him approximately 8.5 million pounds (approximately $11 million). This legal dispute arose when the English club decided to suspend the 500,000 pounds (around $645,000) salary the Frenchman was receiving after being accused of sexual offenses in 2021 and spending some time in detention. Although he was acquitted of all charges, the institution failed to reinstate payments for 22 months, leading the player to take the matter to an employment tribunal.
Judge Joanne Dunlop ruled that the left-back was entitled to most of his claim, initially estimated at 11 million pounds ($14 million) due to deductions from his salary. However, the five months he spent in detention for violating his bail conditions did not entitle him to compensation. The exact sum to be paid has yet to be finalized between the defender’s representative and the club, although it is around $11 million.
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In a statement following the judgment, Mendy expressed his gratitude to his legal team and his confidence that Manchester City would honor the overdue payment. “I had to wait three years for my salary, I am delighted with the decision and I sincerely hope that the club will do the right thing and pay the remaining amounts, as well as the others promised in the contract, so that I can finally turn the page on this difficult phase of my life,” he declared.
Following his detention in August 2021, the local FA suspended the player, and City withheld his salary from September, extending the situation until the end of his contract in June 2023. In January 2023, a jury declared the player from Longjumeau not guilty of the six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against him. Additionally, some remaining charges, which were brought to a second trial in July, also resulted in the player’s acquittal.
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It is worth noting that during these years of legal and financial difficulties, Mendy received financial support from his former teammates such as Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez. During this time, the defender had to sell his Cheshire home—valued at $5.5 million—to manage his defense costs and honor family commitments.
Currently, the World Champion with France during the 2018 World Cup continues his football career in Lorient in his country’s second division. With this recent legal judgment, the player hopes to recover part of the wages that were withheld and move on after this complex moment in his life.
