Manchester City's former French defender Benjamin Mendy, who has been found not guilty of rape and attempted rape by a British court, will take the English club to court for millions of pounds in unpaid wages, British media reported on Monday.
The left-back, who has been playing since the beginning of the season at Lorient, in the France Ligue 1 championship, had been suspended by Manchester City after his indictment and pre-trial detention in the summer of 2021.
More than 100.00 euros per week
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Manchester City football club did not pay any salary to Mr Mendy from September 2021, following Mr Mendy's indictment on various charges of which he was later acquitted, and until the end of his contract, in June 2023," according to a statement sent on behalf of the player to Sky Sports and The Guardian.
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The complaint will be examined before an employment tribunal," the statement continued, adding that the player's interests will be defended by lawyer Nick De Marco KC, acting on the instructions of the Madrid law firm Laffer.
Mendy, 29, was acquitted in two stages, in January and June, of charges of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault.
These two successive acquittals put an end to all proceedings initiated by the British justice system against the 2018 world champion, who has always strongly disputed these accusations, citing consensual relations.
It is estimated that Manchester City paid the French full-back around £100,000 per week (around €114,000).
Trained at Le Havre, revealed at Marseille and spent one season with Monaco, Mendy became the most expensive defender in history in 2017 when the Citizens paid £52 million (around €61.4 million at current exchange rates) to secure his services.
