Manchester City failed to pay Benjamin Mendy’s wages for almost two years as the player faced trial on eight counts of rape. Now declared innocent, he demands “what is owed to him”.
An unexpected turn in a case that is as controversial as it is high-profile. Frenchman Benjamin Mendy, who was part of the victorious 2018 World Cup squad, was found innocent last year of all rape charges he faced and has now won a multi-million lawsuit books against Manchester City. The English club must pay him nearly 11 million pounds (around 14 million dollars). For what ? Because while Mendy was on trial and he was still a Manchester City player, the institution decided not to pay him his salary, which he later claimed after being declared innocent. The UK Employment Tribunal ruled in his favour.
Benjamin Mendy joined Manchester City in 2017 for a record fee of €58 million, then the most expensive defender in the world, from AS Monaco, who had just won Ligue 1. Nobody anticipated that ‘he would bring more problems than joy. After just a handful of matches, Mendy suffered a knee ligament injury and returned seven months later. Although he lifted several trophies with the Citizens (11 in total), his career subsequently took an unfortunate turn. On August 26, 2021, news broke that Mendy was charged with six counts of rape and one sexual assault. He spent a week in custody, was provisionally suspended by the Football Association, and Manchester City decided to withhold his salary.
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Two additional charges of rape and another of attempted rape followed, prompting Mendy to be transferred from a Liverpool prison to the high security HM Prison Strangeways in Manchester due to the media attention surrounding his case. In August 2022, the trial at Chester Crown Court began, addressing eight counts of rape (including one involving a 17-year-old minor), an attempted rape and a sexual assault which allegedly took place at his mansion in Mottram St Andrew, Cheshire, between October 2018 and August 2021. Mendy allegedly met the women at nightclubs in Manchester and invited them to private parties at his mansion, where the alleged crimes occurred. He had to sell his $5.5 million mansion to cover legal fees.
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In January 2023, without compelling evidence, the court found Mendy (and his friend Louis Saha, another defendant) not guilty of all charges related to six of the eight rape cases. The remaining charges were resolved in June of the same year, also with the same result. Thus, Benjamin Mendy was able to return to his profession after two years. He left Manchester City in June 2023 to join Lorient in the French second division, where he played 15 matches in the 2023-24 season. Immediately, he took legal action against his former club, Manchester City, for the 22 months he was not paid his monthly salary of £500,000 ($645,000).
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Now, a UK Employment Tribunal judge has ruled that Manchester City were right not to pay Mendy during the five months he was in police custody (September 2021 to January 2022), but that the suspension of the Football Association prohibiting him from training and playing was not a valid reason to withhold his salary. Therefore, the court ruled that Manchester City will have to pay Mendy “the majority” of his wages. Although the exact amount will be determined at a future hearing, speculation in England suggests the figure will reach 11 million pounds (about $14 million).
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Following the favorable ruling, Mendy released a statement expressing his gratitude: “I had to wait three years for my salary. I am delighted with the decision and sincerely hope that the club will do the right thing and pay the remaining amounts, as well as other amounts promised in the contract, so that I can finally turn the page on this difficult phase of my life.” Benjamin Mendy described his ordeal as “absolute hell” during the legal process. Finally, he seems to have found some stability in a controversial case that never seems to reach a conclusion.
