Footballer Benjamin Mendy arrives at Chester Crown Court for his trial following allegations of rape and sexual assault, Chester, Britain - July 14, 2023 REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
(Reuters) -Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has sued the Premier League club over nearly two years of unpaid wages after he was charged with sexual offences in 2021, the player's lawyer said on Monday.
The France international has filed a "multi-million-pound" claim with the Employment Tribunal, seeking the return of pay up until the end of his contract with the English champions, which ended in June.
Mendy was found not guilty of one count of rape and one of attempted rape by a British court in July after being acquitted of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in January following allegations made by multiple women.
Mendy's lawyer Nick De Marco confirmed he was acting for Mendy in a "multi-million pound claim for unauthorised deductions from wages" in an emailed statement to Reuters.
"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 statement added.
The club declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
Mendy, currently at Ligue 1 side Lorient, joined City from AS Monaco in 2017 for a fee of around 52 million pounds ($64.80 million).
($1 = 0.8025 pounds)
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk and Sam Tobin in London; additional reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
