French Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy, 27, is accused of four rapes and sexual assault allegedly taking place between October 2020 and August 2021, English police said on Thursday August 26 in a statement.
The football player “Was remanded in custody, awaiting his presentation in court in Chester, Friday August 27”, wrote the Cheshire Police (North West), adding that three people over 16 years are at the origin of the complaint. Police also asked the press to avoid any reports. “Which could harm the proceedings in progress”.
Suspended by Manchester City
A few minutes before the police announced the subject of the complaint, the Manchester City club, where he has played since 2017, announced the suspension of the French player, without revealing the subject of the investigation of which he was the target . “Manchester City can confirm that after his indictment by the police today, Benjamin Mendy was suspended for the duration of the investigation”, can we read in the press release published by the club.
“The case is the subject of legal proceedings and the club cannot, for this reason, make any further comments, until it is completed”, adds Manchester City.
To recruit Benjamin Mendy, revealed in Marseille, Manchester City had paid 52 million pounds (nearly 60 million euros) to snatch him after only one season in Monaco, making, at the time, the young left-back the defender the most expensive in history.
But his career has since been punctuated by injuries, such as his cruciate ligament rupture in 2017, forcing Mendy to spend more time treating his knees and muscle ailments than kicking a ball.
