Benjamin Mendy has won the majority of his £11m claim against Manchester City FC for unpaid wages after the club stopped paying his salary when he was charged with s3x offences, an Employment Tribunal judge has ruled
The French full back, 30, was suspended by City in August 2021 following his arrest for a number of s3x offences, including r*pe. He was remanded in custody for five months with the club withholding his salary until the end of his contract in June 2023.
But in January 2023 Mendy was cleared of six counts of r*pe and one count of s3xual assault following a trial lasting several months. And in July 2023 he was then cleared of one count of rape and another of attempted r*pe in a retrial.
Mendy had to sell his Cheshire mansion to cover legal fees, bills and child support payments – with the court hearing how former team-mates such as Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva helped him out.
Employment Judge Joanne Dunlop said she had concluded that Mr Mendy is “entitled to recover some, but not all of the sums claimed”, following a hearing at Manchester Employment Tribunal.
Ms Dunlop said that while Mr Mendy was not in custody, he was “ready and willing” to work and was “prevented from doing so which were unavoidable or involuntary on his part”.
“In those circumstances, and absent any authorisation in the contract for the employer to withhold pay, he was entitled to be paid.”
Mr Mendy will be entitled to receive the majority of his unpaid salary, but not all of it. Ms Dunlop ruled Man City were entitled to withhold Mendy’s money when he was remanded in custody due to breaching bail conditions.
The exact amount owed is to be calculated by Mr Mendy and the club or determined at a future hearing if they cannot reach an agreement.
Following the ruling 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 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.”
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Happy for him