Justice: Benjamin Mendy claims several millions from Manchester City for unpaid wages

Former Manchester City French defender Benjamin Mendy, found not guilty of rape and attempted rape by British courts, will take legal action against the English club from which he is demanding several million pounds in unpaid wages, British media reported on Monday.

The left back, who has been playing since the start of the season in Lorient, in the French Ligue 1 championship, was suspended by Manchester City after his indictment and pre-trial detention in the summer of 2021.

“Manchester City Football Club has not paid any wages to Mr Mendy from September 2021, following Mr Mendy's indictment on various charges of which he was subsequently acquitted, and until the end of his contract, in June 2023,” according to the terms of a press release sent on behalf of the player to the Sky Sports channel and the daily newspaper The Guardian.

“The complaint will be examined before a labor court,” the press release continues, specifying that the player's interests will be defended by lawyer Nick De Marco KC, acting on instructions from the Madrid law firm Laffer.

Mendy, who is 29 years old, was acquitted in two stages by the English courts, in January and then in June, of the charges of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault brought against him.

These two successive acquittals put an end to all the proceedings initiated by the British courts against the 2018 world champion, who has always firmly contested these accusations, citing consensual relationships.

It is estimated that Manchester City paid the French full-back around 100,000 pounds sterling per week (around 114,000 euros).

Trained in Le Havre, revealed in Marseille and spent a season in Monaco, Mendy became the most expensive defender in history in 2017 when the Citizens paid 52 million pounds (around 61.4 million euros at current prices) to secure his services.