Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy claims he received financial support from Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, and Riyad Mahrez after the club stopped paying him after he was charged with rape and sexual assault.
An employment tribunal has heard how the Frenchman’s £500,000 monthly salary was withheld by the club after he was charged in 2021. Mendy has now been exonerated of the accusations and has filed an employment tribunal case against the Premier League champions, claiming “unauthorised deductions” from earnings.
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His contract also stipulated that he would receive a £900,000 incentive if he appeared in 60% of the matches, a £1 million bonus if the team qualified for the Champions League, and an annual £1.2 million payout to his image rights company.
The footballer is now with French Ligue 2 club Lorient, and according to court filings, Mendy “very quickly ran out of money” and had to sell his Cheshire property to fund his legal fees, utilities, and child support payments once his salary stopped.
“I struggled to pay my child support, and I felt awful,” the footballer claimed in a witness statement. Mendy further stated that his agent, Meissa N’diaye, paid for his legal fees, with several of his teammates expressing “financial support”.
He elaborated: “Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez all lent me money to help me try and pay my legal fees and support my family.”
Mendy told the tribunal that he and his agent were persuaded by City’s then-chief football operational officer, Omar Berrada, that he would collect his outstanding pay if he was cleared of the accusations.
According to the trial, the Frenchman sent Berrada a WhatsApp message in November 2022, requesting written proof that the salaries would be paid.
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