Benjamin Mendy issues statement as Manchester City ordered to pay majority of £11 million unpaid wages | OneFootball

Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has issued a statement on social media confirming a decision from an Employment Tribunal judge this week.

Mendy will receive “the majority of his unpaid salary” from the reigning Premier League champions, a judge has ruled this week after the France international took City to an employment tribunal to claim around £11 million before tax in unpaid wages after he was suspended without pay from September 2021 until he left in June 2023.

In 2023, Benjamin Mendy was cleared of a series of rape and attempted rape charges, and judge Joanne Dunlop ruled that Manchester City were entitled to withhold Mendy’s salary for the periods he was in custody, which amounted to about five of the 22 months he was not paid.

A summary judgement read this wee, “The fact that Mr Mendy’s contract contained no provision permitting the club to withhold wages where an FA suspension and/or bail conditions prevented the player from performing his obligations was an important part of the reason for this decision.

“The result of this decision is that Mr Mendy will be entitled to receive the majority of his unpaid salary, although not all of it.”

Judge Joanne Dunlop said, “I found that Mr Mendy was “ready and willing” to work during the non-custody periods, and was prevented from doing so by impediments (the FA suspension and bail conditions) which were unavoidable or involuntary on his part.”

It is further highlighted that the amount Benjamin Mendy will receive from Manchester City will be calculated between the two parties or at a future hearing if it cannot be agreed, with his basic wage understood to have been around £6 million a year.

Now, in a statement released across social media, Benjamin Mendy has wrote, “Today the Employment Tribunal upheld the main part of my claim against Manchester City Football Club for unpaid wages, finding that the Club had unlawfully made deductions from my wages for a total period of 16 months and 23 days.”

The statement continued, “Having had to wait for 3 years for my wages, I am delighted with the decision and sincerely hope that the Club will now do the honourable thing and pay the outstanding amounts, as well as the other amounts promised to me under the contract, without further delay, so I can finally put this difficult part of my life behind me.

“I would like to thank my family, agent (Meissa N’diaye) and my legal team (Nick De Marco KC, Laffer Abogados and Fletcher Sports Law) for all of their support.”

It is understood that there will be no comment from Manchester City on the matter in light of Benjamin Mendy’s public statement on Wednesday afternoon.

Mendy joined Manchester City from AS Monaco in a £52 million deal in the summer market of 2017 and went on to win the Premier League title in 2018, 2019 and 2021, before ultimately making his final appearance for the club on 15 August 2021.

Benjamin Mendy currently plays for French side Lorient, having departed Manchester City upon the expiry of his contract.

Mendy was cleared of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in January 2023, before going on to be further cleared of raping a woman and attempting to rape another in July 2023 at a retrial.