FootyChatter.com

By Sam Brookes Published: 00: 45 AEDT, 7 November 2024 | Updated: 00: 45 AEDT, 7 November 2024 48 View comments Benjamin Mendy has spoken out after his former club Manchester City were ordered to pay him £8. 5m in unpaid wages after he was acquitted of rape last year. Mendy, 30, was accused of raping a woman at his £4m mansion and attempting to rape another woman, but was cleared of the charges at a retrial in July 2023. The Frenchman, who joined City for £49m from Monaco in 2017, had his £500, 000-a-week wages withheld after being charged with sex offences and remanded in custody in August 2021, and he subsequently took the Premier League club to an employment tribunal. Tribunal judge Joanne Dunlop ruled on Wednesday that Mendy is entitled to around £8. 5m, and he has now released a statement following the verdict. The statement read: '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. Benjamin Mendy (pictured) was acquitted of rape and attempted rape at a retrial last year Man City have been ordered to pay Mendy £8. 5m in unpaid wages following an employment tribunal Mendy's statement in full after winning his legal battle with City 'Having had to wait for 3 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 family, agent (Meissa N'diaye) and my legal team (Nick De Marco KC, Laffer Abogados and Fletcher Sports Law) for all of their support. ' Mendy brought forward a claim for £11m, but will not receive the full amount, having spent approximately five months in custody during the 22-month period covered by the claim.   The exact amount is expected to be around £8. 5m and will be agreed by the parties involved, or will be decided in a future hearing if an agreement cannot be reached. The tribunal heard that City continued to pay Mendy after his first arrest in November 2020, but changed their stance when he was re-arrested the following year. Mendy was found not guilty of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in January 2023, but the same jury could not reach a verdict on another count of rape and one count of attempted rape. He was cleared of the final two charges at a retrial in July 2023. After being charged, Mendy was told by City chiefs that they would not be paying his salary as he was 'not presently ready and able to perform the obligations of his contract'. Mendy told an employment tribunal he was assured by City's-then chief operating officer Omar Berrada (pictured) that he would receive his wages once he was acquitted He also claimed he reached out to City chief executive Khaldoon Al-Mubarak (pictured) for clarification on his wage situation but received no response Mendy claims then-chief operating officer Omar Berrada assured him he would receive his wages once acquitted, but the tribunal heard Mendy received no response from Berrada or chief executive Khaldoon Al Mubarak when he reached out to the pair for clarification. Mendy revealed to the court that his then-City team-mates Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez helped him financially while his wages were withheld, and he was forced to sell his Cheshire mansion to pay his legal fees, bills and for child support. Mendy now plays for Lorient in Ligue 2 after returning to France last year following the expiry of his City contract.   He had not played for City since August 2021 after the rape allegations were made against him. Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group