Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has secured a significant victory in his legal battle with the Premier League champions, who have been ordered to pay him around £8.5m in unpaid wages.
The 30-year-old was suspended by the Citizens in 2021 following multiple allegations of rape and sexual assault, but he was cleared of all charges last year and has since returned to football with Ligue 2 side Lorient.
Mendy's contract with Man City expired in the summer of 2023, two years after he was expelled from Pep Guardiola's ranks, and the Frenchman subsequently launched an Employment Tribunal claim against the club, accusing them of wrongfully suspending his pay.
Over a year later, it has been ruled that City were only entitled to suspend Mendy's pay during his time in custody, which amounted to five months of the 22 months that he was out of the picture for, meaning that his £11m claim has been partially upheld.
The defender is believed to be owed around £8.5m by his former team, as Judge Joanne Dunlop concluded that Mendy was "ready and willing" to play for the club but could not fulfil his duties due to an FA suspension and his bail conditions.
Mendy entitled to majority of unpaid wages by Man City
"The Club was entitled to withhold Mr Mendy's salary for the periods during which he was remanded in custody," Judge Dunlop's summary ruling read. "[I am] satisfied that Mr Mendy found himself in custody (and therefore unable to perform his employment contract) in part due to his own actions in breaching the bail conditions he had previously been placed under.
"This was a culpable conduct which could be separated from the underlying criminal allegations. During the periods when Mr Mendy was not in custody, he was also unable to fulfil his obligations under his employment contract.
"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.
"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."
Man City can launch an appeal against the decision, but Mendy has called on the club to "do the honourable thing" and pay him what he is owed so he can move on with his life and career.
Mendy releases statement after Man City legal victory
"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," Mendy said in a statement on social media.
"Having had to wait three years for my wages, I am delighted with the decision and sincerely hope that the Club will 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."
Mendy won four Premier League titles and made 75 appearances for Man City, who paid £52m to bring him to the Etihad from Ligue 1 giants Monaco in the summer of 2017.
After being cleared of all charges last year, Mendy played 15 times for Lorient in the 2023-24 Ligue 1 season but could not save them from relegation to the second tier, and he is yet to make an appearance for Les Merlus in the current campaign.
