Former Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy borrowed money from teammates to cover legal fees and child support after being charged with sexual offences, an employment tribunal heard on Monday. Mendy is seeking 11.5 million pounds (15 million US dollars) in unpaid wages from the Premier League club, which stopped paying him after his 2021 charges for rape and sexual assault.In January 2023, Mendy was acquitted of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. However, the jury could not reach a verdict on another rape charge and one of attempted rape. Following a retrial, he was found not guilty of those remaining charges as well.##NAJAVA_MECA_8412320##Mendy, who joined Manchester City from Monaco for a reported 52 million pounds in 2017, was released in June 2023 after his contract expired. Court documents submitted to the tribunal revealed that Mendy “very quickly ran out of money” and had to sell his mansion in Cheshire to pay for legal fees, bills, and child support after his wages were suspended.”I struggled to pay my child support, I felt awful.” Mendy shared his struggles in a witness statement. “Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez all lent me money to help me try and pay my legal fees and support my family.”🚨🚨🎙️| Benjamin Mendy: “I struggled to pay my child support (when Manchester City stopped paying him after being charged in 2021), I felt awful…””Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez all lent money to help me try and pay my legal fees and support my family.” pic.twitter.com/b2aWgqPwal— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) October 14, 2024 Now playing for French Ligue 2 club Lorient, Mendy claims that a senior City official assured him he would be paid the withheld wages if he was cleared of the charges. The club, however, maintained that they were justified in halting his 500,000-pounds-per-month salary after his November 2020 arrest, arguing that due to his bail conditions and a Football Association suspension, Mendy was unable to fulfill his role as a player.”At no point have Manchester City apologised to me or even acknowledged how their actions almost cost me everything. I believe that it is fair and just for me to be paid the wages that I would have earned but for being falsely arrested for crimes that I did not commit.” Mendy expressed his disappointment in his statement.The tribunal is set to continue for two days.
