Benjamin Mendy makes startling revelations in battle vs City with respect to his outstanding wages by the club.
Benjamin Mendy speaks on how his teammates were the ones to bail him out during financial duress.
An employment tribunal has been informed that former Manchester City player Benjamin Mendy was given financial assistance by his teammates. By then the club withdrew payments from him following his accusations of sexual assault and rape.
Supporters of the France international, who believes the Premier League winners owe him £11.5 million in unpaid pay, included Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, and Riyad Mahrez.
The 30-year-old was accused in 2021, and the club withheld his £500,000 monthly salary, the tribunal was informed. After that, the World Cup winner was exonerated.
The French Ligue 2 player Mendy filed a lawsuit against Manchester City. He alleges that there had been “unauthorised deductions” made from his pay.
Additionally, according to his contract, he would get paid £1.2 million a year to his image rights firm. A £900,000 bonus for playing in 60% of City’s games. And a £1 million bonus if City made it to the Champions League.
Mendy “very quickly ran out of money” after his wages were withheld. This is according to court documents submitted with the Manchester employment tribunal. He was forced to sell his Cheshire property in order to pay for utilities, legal fees, and child support. “I felt terrible and I struggled to pay my child support,” the football player testified.
Mendy said that teammates provided “financial support” and that his agent, Meïssa N’diaye, covered his legal costs. In his witness statement, he stated, “Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, and Riyad Mahrez all lent me money to help me try and pay my legal fees and support my family.”
Appearing over videolink, Mendy said the tribunal that Omar Berrada, City’s then-chief football operational officer, had promised him and N’diaye that he would have his unpaid salary back when he was exonerated of all charges. According to what the tribunal heard, in November 2022, the football player texted Berrada on WhatsApp, requesting a written confirmation that the pay would be paid. However, Berrada did not respond to the message and denied having ever given it.
Mendy’s witness statement read: “I would have thought that Manchester City, of all clubs, would appreciate the lack of control and anger that a person or entity has with being charged with false allegations given the Premier League allegations that they are facing.
“At no point have Manchester City apologised to me or even acknowledged how their actions almost cost me everything. I believe that it is fair and just for me to be paid the wages that I would have earned but for being falsely arrested for crimes that I did not commit.”