Inside Benjamin Mendy's new life after court cases and Man City battle

The Frenchman's last appearance for City came in 2021, the year his playing days were put on hold after he was charged with rape and sexual assault. Following a period in custody between August 2021 and January 2022, he was granted bail before being acquitted of rape and attempted rape allegations.

Mendy was emotional as the not guilty verdicts were announced following proceedings at Chester Crown Court in July 2023. That followed his acquittal on six rape charges at a previous trial in January 2023.

Mendy left City when his contract expired that year before succeeding in a legal dispute with the club, which resulted in him receiving a chunk of his outstanding wages, approximately £11 million, at an employment tribunal in 2024. City had suspended him without pay when he was charged.

In a statement, Mendy said: "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."

Shortly after his court proceedings, Mendy resumed his career with French outfit Lorient, penning a two-year deal. After a spell hampered by injuries, he departed after 18 months to sign for Swiss Super League club FC Zurich.

He spent an even shorter time in Switzerland, with his deal terminated by mutual agreement after just five months. Mendy's subsequent transfer brought him to Poland with Pogon Szczecin, where he finally made his debut last November.

It's been a challenging campaign for Pogon thus far as they're fighting to escape relegation from the 18-team top division. Discussing the side's difficulties and his own restricted game time, Mendy published a rare Instagram message in December.

He wrote: "Not the place we want to be at this point of the season but there's still time to work and make it better. On a personal note happy to complete my first 90mins in a long time.

"It will only get better from there [fingers crossed emoji]. Thank you so much for the amazing support and warm welcome I've always felt here in @pogonszczecinsa."

That remains his latest post. Before this weekend's fixtures, the 31-year-old had featured in only eight matches this campaign. He began the 2-0 home loss to Legia Warsaw on April 6, only to be withdrawn at the interval.

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