Mendy wins part of unpaid wages case against Man City

Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy on Wednesday won a partial victory in his case against the Premier League club for over 11 million pounds ($14.3 million) in unpaid wages, after he was charged with and acquitted of sexual offences.

The France international filed an employment tribunal claim against City last year, seeking unpaid wages and interest from when the club stopped paying him in September 2021 until the end of his contract in June 2023.

Mendy argued City had unlawfully deducted wages that he was due under his contract, saying in a witness statement that he had been promised he would be paid after he was cleared.

City's lawyers, however, said Mendy was not paid because he "was not ready and able to perform his duties ... as a consequence of his own conduct", as he was held in custody before his trial for breaching his bail conditions.

Judge Joanne Dunlop upheld part of Mendy's case in a written ruling on Wednesday.

A summary of the tribunal's judgment stated: "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."

Dunlop said in her ruling that Manchester City was entitled to withhold Mendy's pay for two periods he spent in custody, covering about five months of the 22-month period of his claim.

When Mendy was not in custody, Dunlop found, he was "ready and willing to work" and prevented from doing so by his suspension by the Football Association and bail conditions "which were unavoidable or involuntary on his part".

Mendy joined City from AS Monaco in 2017 for a fee of around 52 million pounds, on an annual salary of 6 million pounds.

He signed for French club Lorient, currently in Ligue 2, shortly after his retrial.

Mendy was acquitted of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in January 2023, following a trial at Chester Crown Court. He was found not guilty of one count of rape and one of attempted rape after a retrial.