Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has initiated legal proceedings against the club in an effort to recover lost earnings amounting to £10 million. Mendy was suspended by Manchester City in August 2021 after being charged with four counts of rape. He did not play for the club again before departing in June 2023. During the period from September 2021 until the expiration of his contract, City withheld payment from Mendy, citing his unavailability for work due to his bail and subsequent trial and retrial.
Mendy spent over four months in custody before being released on bail in January 2022. His bail conditions prohibited him from entering Greater Manchester, where City trains and plays home matches, and required him to surrender his passport. City expressed surprise at Mendy’s decision to take legal action.
In January, Mendy was found not guilty of raping four women and sexually assaulting another following a trial at Chester Crown Court. He was subsequently acquitted in July after a retrial on two remaining charges of rape and attempted rape.
A statement from Mendy’s legal representative, Nick De Marco KC, confirmed the multimillion-pound claim for unauthorized wage deductions against Manchester City FC. The statement highlighted that City failed to pay Mendy any wages from September 2021 until the end of his contract in June 2023, despite his subsequent acquittal on all charges. The case will be presented before an employment tribunal.
Mendy joined Ligue 1 side Lorient in July after leaving Manchester City. Since the conclusion of his retrial, Mendy and his agent have been in contact with City regarding the recovery of lost earnings, estimated to be between £9 million and £10 million gross. As no agreement has been reached, the matter will now proceed to an employment tribunal.
In addition to the legal action, HM Revenue and Customs has sought a bankruptcy order against Mendy due to a tax debt of nearly £800,000. During a high court hearing on October 4, Louis Doyle KC, representing Mendy, acknowledged the difficulty in discharging the debt promptly and expressed Mendy’s intention to settle it as quickly as possible.
Benjamin Mendy, who became the most expensive full-back in world football when he joined Manchester City from Monaco for £53 million in 2017, won three Premier League titles and two League Cups under the management of Pep Guardiola. He has also earned 10 caps for the French national team and was part of the squad that won the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
