Football

Mendy: "Several Man City first-team players attended my parties, but only I was falsely accused of rape and publicly humiliated"

Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has alleged that other first-team players attended his parties and engaged in sexual encounters with women.

Mendy, who faced multiple allegations of sexual assault in 2021, was acquitted of all charges in July 2023. Despite having a valid contract, Manchester City stopped paying his salary from September 2021 until June 2023.


Last November, Mendy filed a substantial lawsuit against the club, which began hearings on Monday. Former Manchester City sporting director Omar Berrada, now with Manchester United, testified for the club.

"Several first-team players, including the club captain, attended the parties I hosted. We all drank alcohol and had casual flings with women. We broke COVID-19 restrictions together. While this doesn't justify my actions, I find it unfair for Manchester City to single me out. The difference is that only I was falsely accused of rape and publicly shamed.

I can't shake the feeling that the club wants to paint my actions as reckless, leading to my arrest for crimes I didn't commit. I want to emphasize that at the time in question, I was no different from some other first-team players at Manchester City.

I struggled to pay child support and felt terrible. Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, and Riyad Mahrez lent me money to help cover legal fees and support my family.

I was prepared to fulfill my duties to the same extent as other Manchester City players, who were known to the club to attend parties and behave recklessly. However, I am not aware of any salary delays or suspensions for them, even though it was known they attended the parties. Therefore, I find it incredibly unjust that Manchester City effectively isolated me from the team, despite having acted no differently," Mendy stated during the hearings, according to The Telegraph.

Benjamin Mendy played for Manchester City from 2017 to 2023, featuring in 75 matches and winning the Premier League title four times. Last summer, the 30-year-old Frenchman joined Lorient on a free transfer, signing a contract until the end of June 2025. He has yet to play for the Ligue 2 club this season.

EPL