Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, has admitted to jurors that he had “no idea” what Benjamin Mendy did off the field as he is “not his father.”
The Spanish football manager said Mendy was a “happy and funny boy” and it would be “difficult to find anyone in the locker room who would speak badly of him”.
‘He’s a really good boy, I would say so generous’ – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola tells the court when describing Benjamin Mendy’s character – live updateshttps://t.co/DQofga2l8D
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He said he was aware Mendy broke lockdown restrictions in 2020 by holding parties and said the pair had a chat.
He said: “Of course I was not happy. We talked about that and he accepted that he didn’t do the right thing.”
Asked if he was aware of the allegations Mendy faced, Guardiola said he had been asked to come to court by the 28-year-old to give character evidence, adding: “And that’s why I’m here.”
Mendy is accused of raping and sexually assaulting a total of six different women on five different occasions at his home in Mottram St Andrew, Cheshire, between October 2018 and August last year.
Mendy denies seven counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and one count of sexual assault.
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Asked by Mendy’s barrister Eleanor Laws KC if he was aware that Mendy enjoyed his social life, Guardiola replied: “I can see the players when we are together in the training sessions. In their private life I don’t know what they do.
“I’m not active in social media so I don’t follow my players on social media. So I don’t know what they were doing out of my control of the training sessions and the games.”
Ms Laws said: “Your interest is what he’s like on the pitch and in the training sessions.”
Guardiola replied: “Absolutely – I’m not his father” and laughed.
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