Benjamin Mendy WINS £11m unpaid wages in battle with Man City to receive ‘majority’ of his wages after rape acquittal

Benjamin Mendy has won his legal battle against Manchester City for the bulk of his £11million in unpaid wages while he was accused of rape.

Mendy was acquitted of raping a woman in his £4million mansion and attempting to rape another woman after a retrial last year.

City froze Mendy’s £500,000-a-month wages in 2021 when Mendy was arrested for the second time.

Mendy, who joined City for £49million from Monaco in 2017, responded by taking the Premier League champions to an employment tribunal and has won the battle for most of his unpaid wages after making an ‘unauthorised deduction’ claim in his salary.

Mendy’s claim was around £11m before tax. The court ruling means he will be entitled to the majority of that amount, but not all of it, after spending approximately five months in custody during the 22-month period covered by the claim. The exact amount must be agreed upon by the parties involved, or will be decided in a future hearing if an agreement cannot be reached.

Benjamin Mendy has won his legal battle against Manchester City for the majority of his unpaid wages

Mendy had his wages withheld by City after being arrested for a second time after being accused of rape in 2021

Mendy was acquitted of the charges at a retrial last year and made a claim against City for around £11m in unpaid wages

The court heard that City continued to pay Mendy after his first arrest in November 2020, but changed their stance when he was arrested again the following year.

After being charged, Mendy was told by City bosses that they would not pay his wages as he was ‘not currently ready and able to fulfill the obligations of his contract’.

Mendy claims then chief operating officer Omar Berrada assured him he would receive his salary once he was cleared, but the court heard Mendy received no response from Berrada or chief executive Khaldoon Al Mubarak when he reached out to the pair for to get clarification.

Mendy revealed to the court that his then City teammates Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez helped him financially while his wages were withheld and he was forced to sell his Cheshire mansion to pay his legal fees, bills and child support . .

City argued in court that Mendy only had himself to blame for behaving irresponsibly after reports the left-back threw parties at the mansion during the lockdown and breached his bail conditions.

Sean Jones KC, representing the City, said: ‘The gist of the submission from Mr. Mendy is that his contract creates a moral hazard.

He says: “I can behave as irresponsibly as I want, I can ignore all the rules of the club, both legal and common sense, to the point where my behavior results in prison.”

‘He tries to turn a moral hazard into a virtue. He says “It shouldn’t affect my right to pay in any way. There shouldn’t be any consequences for my behaviour”.’

Mendy now plays for Lorient in Ligue 2 after returning to France last year following the expiry of his City contract. He had not played for City since August 2021 after the rape allegations were made against him.

After being cleared by a jury after three hours of deliberations at his retrial last year, Mendy wept in the dock and exclaimed ‘Alhamdulillah’ – an Arabic phrase meaning: ‘Praise be to God’.

Mendy told an employment tribunal that he was assured by the city’s then chief operating officer Omar Berrada (pictured) that he would receive his salary once he was cleared

He also claimed he contacted City chief executive Khaldoon Al-Mubarak (pictured) for clarification on his salary situation but received no response

Jenny Wiltshire, Head of Serious & General Crime at Hickman & Rose said: ‘Benjamin Mendy would like to thank the members of the jury for focusing on the evidence in this trial rather than the rumor and innuendo that has accompanied this case from the beginning.

“This is the second time that Mr Mendy has been prosecuted and found not guilty by a jury. He is pleased that both juries reached the correct verdicts.

“It has been almost 3 years since the police started investigating the case. Mendy has tried to stay strong, but the process has inevitably taken a serious toll on him.

‘He thanks everyone who has supported him through this ordeal and is now asking for privacy so he can start rebuilding his life.’