Benjamin Mendy has revealed in court proceedings that three of his former Manchester City teammates provided financial support to him after the club stopped paying his salary when he was accused of rape.
The France international was first arrested in November 2020 on charges of rape, and would later be suspended by City in August 2021.
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During his suspension, it is understood that the English giants stopped paying his salary, resulting in him struggling to take care of his family and pay his legal fees.
In July 2023, the left-back was cleared of the rape and attempted sexual assault charges against him.
Soon after, the Frenchman confirmed that he would be opening a case against City at an employment tribunal for withholding his wages of £500 000 (R11.5 million) per month.
With proceedings now underway, Mendy, who now plays for Lorient in his native France, has revealed that he had to rely on three of his ex-City teammates for financial support, in addition to selling his Cheshire mansion to cover legal fees, bills and child support payments.
"Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez all lent me money to help me try and pay my legal fees and support my family," he said in his witness statement, according to Sky Sports.
Mendy, who attended the tribunal via video call, added that his agent, Meissa N'diaye, was assured by City's former chief football operating officer, Omar Berrada, that he would receive his outstanding salary once he was cleared of the charges.
The fullback also claims he reached to Berrada in 2022, via WhatsApp, to ask him to confirm his promise in writing, but the executive ignored his messages.
It is said that Mendy's contract showed he would also receive a £900 000 (R20.7 million) bonus for appearing in 60% of matches in a season, a £1 million (R23 million) bonus if City qualified for the UEFA Champions League, and an annual £1.2 million (R27.6 million) payment to his image rights company.
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City argue that they later stopped paying the now-Lorient star because his bail conditions and English Football Association suspension meant he was not able to perform his duties as a footballer.