Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has shared his relief after the judge ruled in his favour in the employment claim against his former club. The employment tribunal ordered the Premier League side to pay the Frenchman his wages, which they had withheld due to the cases of multiple sexual offences against him.
Benjamin Mendy took to social media to share his relief at the end of the ordeal which would see him receive up to £11 million in wages. The unpaid wages were from during his employment with Manchester City between September 2021 and the end of his contract in June 2023.
He posted the following statement on his X account:
"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."
"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," the statement added.
He ended the post by thanking his legal team, agent, and family for their support.
Benjamin Mendy, who currently plays for Ligue 2 side FC Lorient City, was acquitted of all sexual offence charges.
What the judge said in the Benjamin Mendy vs Manchester City tribunal
Benjamin Mendy had filed a claim with the employment tribunal claiming that Manchester City owed him over £11 million in unpaid wages during his time at the club. The Premier League side stopped paying his salary after he was charged with multiple rape and sexual assault allegations in August 2021.
Judge Joanne Dunlop published her judgement on Wednesday, November 6, which ordered Manchester City to pay most of Mendy's unpaid wages. The statement confirmed the damages to be paid to him would be from the time when he was not in custody. The defender will miss out on wages from the time he was being held in jail awaiting trial.
The 30-year-old will be entitled to receive 17 months' wages out of the 22 months of unpaid wages that he had filed the claim for. In her judgement, the judge wrote [via The Guardian]:
"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. In those circumstances, and absent any authorisation in the contract for the employer to withhold pay, he was entitled to be paid."
Manchester City are yet to release a statement on the judgement by Judge Dunlop or respond to Benjamin Mendy's post.