In 2023, former Manchester City and France international Benjamin Mendy was cleared of seven charges of rape and another of sexual assault, in two separate trials. Due to this legal situation, City stopped paying Mendy’s wages.
In an employment tribunal that opened this week, Mendy, and City have both charged each other with explosive revelations.
Mendy claims that the current Premier League champions owe him £11.5 million in unpaid wages and bonuses.
In a statement included in the documents presented at the tribunal 30-year-old Mendy said: “Despite the support that I received from a number of the players, I felt that Manchester City as a club took the view that I was guilty from the outset and decided not to support me at all or be seen to have anything to do with me.”
In response, City has argued that Mendy engaged in “reckless behaviour” while a member of the team and that even after he was arrested by the police he continued to act unprofessionally.
Among the revelations was, the left-back was caught hiding in a cupboard of a house in Salford during a police-led manhunt. Other City players attended his infamous “sex parties” including current England internationals, Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, and John Stones. He also went through multiple bankruptcy hearings after developing financial issues because of City’s refusal to pay him.
At the heart of the case is Mendy’s claim that City assumed he’d be heading to prison and unlawfully withdrew his salary for almost two years before his contract expired in June 2023.
The bulk of the incidents occurred while the UK was in the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown. It was claimed that Mendy would regularly hold parties, get drunk, and stay up to the early hours. Eventually, this behaviour got back to City who fined him a week’s wages, however, that did not slow him down.
Amongst the documents handed to the tribunal were details of his six-year contract. He was earning £6 a year plus a minimum of £1.2 million for image rights and a further £900,000 if he played 60% of games. There was also a one-off payment of £1 million if the club qualified for the UEFA Champions League. Other bonuses included winning trophies, which of course City did on a regular basis.
City’s main argument is that it was “impossible” to involve Mendy in the club because of the FA’s suspension as well as his bail conditions and the time he spent in prison on remand.
The judge said she expected to issue a verdict in four weeks.
