Mendy Sues Manchester City Over Unpaid Wages

French professional footballer, Benjamin Mendy, has taken legal action against Manchester City by filing a multi-million pound lawsuit at an employment tribunal.

The 29-year-old left-back alleges that the club made unauthorized wage deductions while he was facing criminal charges.

Mendy, who currently plays for French club Lorient, claims that City stopped paying his salary in September 2021 after he was accused of rape and sexual assault. However, he was acquitted in two trials this year.

Mendy’s lawyer, Nick De Marco, has confirmed that they have launched legal proceedings to seek all the wages owed to Mendy until his City contract expires in June 2023. The claim accuses the Premier League champions of withholding pay for nearly two years while the legal cases were ongoing.

In 2017, Mendy became the world’s most expensive defender when he joined City from Monaco for £52 million. During his time at City, he won three league titles. However, his last appearance for the club was in August 2021, just before his arrest.

According to a statement from Mendy’s legal team, he was not paid anything for 21 months until his contract ended, despite being cleared of all charges.

The statement argues that the Premier League club had no contractual right to suspend such a lengthy wage.

“Nick De Marco KC (instructed by Laffer Abogados (Madrid) is acting for the former Manchester City player Benjamin Mendy in a multi-million-pound claim for unauthorised deductions from wages.

“Manchester City FC failed to pay Mr Mendy any wages at all from September 2021, following Mr Mendy being charged with various offences, all of which he was subsequently acquitted of, until the end of his contract in June 2023. The claim will come before an Employment Tribunal,” the statement read.

However, Manchester City is yet to respond to the lawsuit as of the time of filing this report.