FOOTIE FIGHT
Benjamin Mendy WINS battle against Man City over £11m unpaid wages after salary stopped following rape charge
French left-back stood trial twice accused of rape but was cleared both times
BENJAMIN Mendy has won his battle against Man City for the majority of his £11.5million in unpaid wages following his rape charge.
The 30-year-old took the Premier League winners to an employment tribunal when his £500,000-a-month salary was halted in 2021.
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Mendy stood trial twice on a string of rape and attempted rape charges but was cleared last year.
The star, who now plays for French Ligue 2 club Lorient, claimed for "unauthorised deductions" from his wages.
Mendy has today won the fight for the majority of his unpaid salary while he was facing the charges.
The exact amount will have to be calculated by Mendy and the club, or determined at a future hearing if they cannot reach an agreement.
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But City could end up forking out around £8.5million, which covers the 17-month period his pay was wrongly blocked.
Employment Judge Joanne Dunlop ruled Mendy is "entitled to recover some, but not all of the sums claimed".
This is because five months of the 22 months Mendy claimed he was owed were spent in custody after he breached his bail conditions.
The judge found that when Mendy was not in custody, he was "ready and willing" to work and was "prevented from doing" so by reasons that were "unavoidable or involuntary on his part".
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Manchester Employment Tribunal heard how his contract showed that on top of his salary, the star would receive a £900,000 bonus for appearing in 60 per cent of matches.
Mendy would then also be handed a £1million bonus if City qualified for the Champions League, and an annual £1.2million payment to his image rights company.
Benjamin Mendy says ‘several’ Man City stars JOINED sex parties as he sues club for £11m unpaid wages after rape charge
But a month after he was charged, City bosses told Mendy they were stopping wages as he was "not presently ready and able to perform the obligations of his contract".
He claimed he was assured by Man City's then chief football operating officer Omar Berrada that he would receive his unpaid wages once he had been cleared.
But the tribunal was told when Mendy messaged the chief in November 2022 asking for confirmation, he received no response.
The French international also claimed he got no message back from Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the Emirati chief executive of the club.
As a result, Mendy told the tribunal he was forced to borrow money from his teammates after he ran out of cash "very quickly".
The court was told current and former players Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez helped the left-back out.
Mendy also had to sell his Cheshire mansion to cover legal fees, bills and child support payments after his wages were withheld.
But Sean Jones KC, representing City, told the tribunal Mendy had only himself to blame for not being paid because of his own irresponsible behaviour.
This included reports of lockdown-busting parties at his mansion and breaking his bail conditions.
Mr Jones added: "The essence of the submission by Mr Mendy is that his contract creates a moral hazard.
"He says, 'I can behave as irresponsibly as I like, I can ignore all the rules, both legal, of the club and common sense to the point where my behaviour results in prison'.
"He is trying to make a moral hazard into a virtue.
"He says, 'It should in no way affect my entitlement to pay. There should be no consequences to my behaviour'."
Mendy urges City to do 'honourable' thing
In a statement, Mendy said: "Today the Employment Tribunal upheld the main part of my claim against Manchester City Football Club for unpaid wages, finding that the club had unlawfully made deductions from my wages for a total period of 16 months and 23 days.
"Having had to wait for three years for my wages, I am delighted with the decision and sincerely hope that the club will now do the honourable thing and pay the outstanding amounts, as well as the other amounts promised to me under the contract, without further delay, so I can finally put this difficult part of my life behind me.
"I would like to thank my friends, family, agent (Meissa N'Diaye) and my legal team (Nick De Marco KC, Laffer Abogados and Fletcher Sports Law) for all of their support."
City spent a reported £49.2million signing Mendy from French side Monaco in 2017 on a six-year contract.
The tribunal heard the club continued to pay Mendy following his first arrest in November 2020.
He left the club when his contract expired in June 2023 after not playing for the club since his second arrest in 2021.
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Last year, Mendy was found not guilty of one charge of rape and one charge of attempted rape following a retrial.
He had previously been cleared of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.
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