Former Manchester City player Bunyaman Mendy is suing City FC at the Industrial Tribunal after his wages were stopped by the club during the time he was facing allegations of rape and sexual assault, resulting in him having to borrow money from his teammates to get by, according to a new report in the Evening Standard.
Mendy, who currently plays for Lorient in Ligue 2, claims that City have made "unauthorized deductions" from his wages. According to his contract, he is due to receive a £900,000 bonus for 60% of his appearances, a further £1 million if City qualify for the Champions League, and £1.2 million a year from his likeness rights company.
However, during the time he faced the charges, Mendy's wages were garnished and he had to sell his mansion in Cheshire to pay his legal fees, bills and child support. In his witness statement, he said he "quickly ran out of money" and found it "difficult to pay child support and felt terrible."
Mendy's agent, Mesa Ndiaye, allegedly advanced his legal fees, while City teammates, including Sterling, provided him with "financial support". In his witness statement, Mendy mentioned that Sterling, B Seat and Mahrez had lent him money to help him pay his legal fees and support his family.
Court documents also show that Mendy liked to party and hosted a party at his mansion in January 2021 that lasted until 4 a.m., even though he had a game the next day. He was detained between August 2021 and January 2022 and December 2022 and January 2023 for violating his bail conditions.
Mendy claimed that City's then Chief Football Operations Officer, Omar Berrada, had assured him that he would get back his unpaid wages once he was cleared of the charges. However, Berrada did not reply to Mendy's enquiring messages and denied having given such an assurance. After his acquittal, Mendy sent an email to Manchester City FC chairman Jose Mubarak, but again received no reply.
Mendy went on to say in his witness statement that he believes he should be paid the wages he deserves as it is fair and just. The club had originally continued to pay him his wages after his initial arrest in November 2020, but said there was no need to continue to do so as his bail conditions and FA ban meant he was unable to fulfill his duties as a player.
It is worth noting that Bunyaman Mendy was acquitted of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in January 2023, but the same jury was unable to reach a verdict on another count of rape and one count of attempted rape. The case was later retried and Mendy was likewise acquitted of one count of rape and one count of attempted rape. In April this year, a High Court tax debt action against Mendy was dismissed after he paid a £700,000 bill. The employment tribunal hearing is expected to last two days.
