Football

Ex-Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy files lawsuit against club for unpaid wages

Mendy claims that the club owes him millions of pounds.

Nov 21, 2023 5:58 pm

Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy is seeking legal recourse against his previous club, pursuing millions of pounds in unpaid wages that he claims were withheld without due authorization. Mendy’s decision to take Manchester City to an employment tribunal stems from the unauthorized wage deductions he faced during the period he awaited trial for rape and sexual assault charges in 2021. Upon acquittal of all charges in January 2023, Mendy embarked on a quest to reclaim the withheld wages.

The allegation levelled at the club is that they stopped paying the French left-back after the was first charged with the crimes. Nick De Marco KC, who is ranked as one of the leading practitioners in football disputes will be taking care of the matter for Mendy.

“Manchester City FC failed to pay Mr Mendy any wages at all from September 2021, following Mr Mendy being charged with various offences all of which he was subsequently acquitted of, until the end of his contract in June 2023. The claim will come before an employment tribunal,” a statement on behalf of Mendy told Sky Sports and The Guardian.

Benjamin Mendy earned a whopping 100,000 pounds per week at City

In January, Mendy cleared six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, but two charges remained unresolved, necessitating a retrial. At the retrial in July, he was acquitted of those remaining charges. Mendy, who was reportedly paid around 100,000 pounds ($125,000) per week by City, is seeking the return of pay he is owed up until the end of his contract with the treble winners.

The club was contacted by Reuters but refused to comment on the matter. Mendy won three Premier League titles with the club and was part of France’s World Cup-winning squad in 2018. He last played for City in August 2021. Mendy, acquired by City from French club AS Monaco in 2017 in a £52m deal, joined FC Lorient shortly after he exonerated rape charges in July. Since then, he has made three substitute appearances for the Ligue 1 side.