Benjamin Mendy ‘lent money by teammates’ after Man City stopped paying wages, tribunal hears

Benjamin Mendy was lent money by Manchester City teammates when the club stopped paying him after he was charged with rape and sexual assault, an employment tribunal has heard.

Current and former players Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez supported the French international, who now claims to be owed £11.5m in unpaid wages by the Premier League champions.

The 30-year-old’s £500,000 per month wage was withheld by the club after he was charged in 2021, the tribunal was told.

The World Cup winner was subsequently cleared.

Mr Mendy, who now plays for French Ligue 2 club Lorient, brought employment tribunal proceedings against Manchester City, claiming for “unauthorised deductions” from wages.

His contract showed he would also receive a £900,000 bonus for appearing in 60% of matches, a £1m bonus if City qualified for the Champions League, and an annual £1.2m payment to his image rights company.

Court documents shared with the Manchester employment tribunal said Mr Mendy “very quickly ran out of money”.

He then had to sell his Cheshire mansion to cover legal fees, bills and child support payments after his wages were withheld.

Read more from Sky News:
Strictly star ‘heartbroken’ over viral footage
Thousands denied weight loss jab
King faces snub from senior Australian politicians

Mr Mendy said his agent, Meissa N’diaye, paid towards his legal fees, while teammates including England international Sterling offered “financial support”.

“Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez all lent me money to help me try and pay my legal fees and support my family,” he said in his witness statement.

Mr Mendy, appearing via videolink, told the tribunal he and his agent had been assured by Man City’s then chief football operating officer Omar Berrada that he would receive his unpaid wages once he had been cleared of the charges.

👉 Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts 👈

The footballer sent Mr Berrada a WhatsApp message in November 2022, asking if he could confirm in writing that the wages would be paid, the tribunal heard.

But Mr Berrada did not reply to the message, and denied ever having made such an assurance.

After his acquittal, Mr Mendy sent an email to Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the Emirati chief executive of Manchester City, but again received no response.

The club continued paying Mr Mendy following his first arrest in November 2020, but has argued it did not have to carry on doing so later because his bail conditions and Football Association suspension meant he was not able to perform his duties as a player.

Mr Mendy was found not guilty of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in January 2023, but the same jury could not reach a verdict on another count of rape and one count of attempted rape.

It saw a retrial and Mendy was found not guilty of one charge of rape and one charge of attempted rape.

In April, a High Court tax debt case against Mr Mendy was dismissed after he paid a £700,000 bill.

The employment tribunal is expected to last for two days.