Benjamin Mendy accuses City of withholding £11M wages

Former Manchester City player Benjamin Mendy has accused the club of withholding £11 million in wages and claimed that several teammates participated in sex parties. Mendy, a French national, testified at an employment tribunal that three teammates lent him money when the club stopped paying him during his legal battles over rape and sexual assault charges.

Mendy stated, “We all had casual relations with women. This does not excuse my behaviour, but I feel that it is unfair for Manchester City to single me out in the way they have. The difference between me and the other players is that I was the one that was falsely accused of rape and publicly humiliated.”

Players Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, and Riyad Mahrez supported Mendy, who now claims £11.5 million in unpaid wages. The tribunal heard that Mendy’s £500,000 monthly salary was withheld after he was charged in 2021. Mendy, now a player for French Ligue 2 club Lorient, was later cleared of all charges and is suing City for “unauthorised deductions” from his wages.

Mendy’s contract included a £900,000 bonus for appearing in 60% of matches, a £1 million bonus if City qualified for the Champions League, and an annual £1.2 million payment to his image rights company. Court documents revealed that Mendy quickly ran out of money, selling his Cheshire mansion to cover legal fees, bills, and child support payments.

The footballer shared that his agent, Meissa N’diaye, and teammates like Sterling helped with financial support. “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 said.

Mendy described his 2021 charging as the day his life was “turned upside down forever.” City’s legal team argued that Mendy was not “ready and able to fulfil his contract” due to his imprisonment, bail conditions, and an Interim Suspension Order by the Football Association. The tribunal heard that Mendy had a £6 million-a-year contract for six years from August 2017 to July 2023. City stopped paying his wages in September 2021 and terminated his contract on June 30, 2023.

Mendy testified via video link and acknowledged he had been paid £25 million for playing in 123 out of 240 games. He admitted he was “incredibly well paid” and that the club had the right to expect professional conduct from him. He also conceded he frequented nightclubs and held parties at his Prestbury mansion, The Spinney.

City’s lawyer, Sean Jones, questioned Mendy about his casual encounters with women. Mendy responded, “I was not thinking like this at the time.” He admitted to continuing to hold parties during Covid and after his release on police bail but maintained he acted no differently than other first-team members.

Jones pointed out that other players were “ready and able to perform their duties” and had not been suspended. The tribunal learned that City had informed Mendy in September 2021 that he would receive no further payments until he was ready to perform his contractual duties. Mendy acknowledged he was in prison on remand and suspended by the Football Association at the time.

City’s defence stated that Mendy breached his contract by behaving recklessly, bringing the club and football into disrepute. Mendy’s lawyer, Nick de Marco, KC, argued that City had no legal right to stop paying Mendy’s wages under employment law. He stated that deductions in pay might be unlawful if an employee’s inability to work results from a third-party decision or external constraint.

The tribunal continues.