Benjamin Mendy is on trial at Chester Crown Court over alleged rape and sexual assault between 2018 and 2021. The 28-year-old denies all charges but was suspended by Manchester City in the summer of 2021 pending the investigation.
He’s been found not guilty of one charge but is still in court over seven counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and one count of sexual assault against six young women. In a recent hearing, Mendy revealed City haven’t paid his £100k-per-week wages since his suspension, so the club have saved £6.3m.
The French international’s contract at the Etihad is up next summer and a renewal is highly unlikely, City will have saved £9.6m by the end of June. The Sky Blues have kept Mendy on their books rather than terminate his contract as it gives him an out to sue over unfair dismissal, but they’re not inclined to pay his wages while he’s suspended over alleged sex crimes. In fact, they can seek compensation for breach of contract.
City paid £52m to sign Mendy from AS Monaco in 2017 and paid him £5.2m a year until 2021, so they’ve spent around £65m on the injury-prone left-back who hasn’t played for more than a year. Sergio Gomez was signed to replace Oleksandr Zinchenko, but Pep Guardiola needs another fullback to replace Mendy as he won’t represent the club again.
The Vital Network is unique from other football content providers as all the sites are run by the fans, for the fans. We are looking for a writer to join our Manchester City site. If you can write well-constructed, thought-provoking opinion pieces alongside reporting on current events and breaking news then I want to hear from you. Email paddy@snack-media.com.
Can you name these Man City players from the 2000s? Test your knowledge, take the quiz and challenge your friends and family to beat your score