Benjamin Mendy received a loan from Manchester City teammates when the club stopped paying him after he was accused of rape and sexual assault, an Employment Tribunal heard.
Current and former players Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez have supported the Frenchman, who now claims the Premier League champions owe him £11.5 million in unpaid wages.
The tribunal said the club had withheld £300,000 of the 30-year-old's monthly wages following his 2021 charges.
The World Cup winner was subsequently cleared.
Mendy, who currently plays for French Ligue 2 club Lorient, has launched Employment Tribunal proceedings against Manchester City claiming “unauthorized deductions” from his wages.
His contract stipulated that he would also receive a bonus of £900,000 for appearing in 60% of matches, a bonus of £1 million if City qualified for the Champions League, and an annual payment of £1.2 million to his sports management company. rights to the image.
Court documents released to the Manchester Employment Tribunal show Mendy “ran out of money very quickly”.
He then had to sell his Cheshire mansion to cover legal fees, bills and child support after his salary was stopped.
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Mendy said his agent Meissa N'diaye had covered his legal costs, while teammates, including England international Sterling, had offered “financial support”.
“Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez lent me money to help me pay my legal fees and support my family,” he said in his testimony.
Mendy, appearing via video link, told the tribunal that he and his agent were assured by Man City's then chief operating officer Omar Berrada that he would receive back wages once he was cleared.
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The tribunal heard the footballer sent Mr Berrada a WhatsApp message in November 2022, asking for written confirmation that the wages would be paid.
However, Mr. Berrada did not respond to this message and denied ever making such an assurance.
Following his acquittal, Mendy emailed Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Manchester City's Emirati CEO, but again received no response.
The club continued to pay Mendy after his initial arrest in November 2020, but argued that it did not have to do so thereafter because bail conditions and the Football Association's suspension meant he was unable to carry out his duties as competitor.
In January 2023, Mendy was found not guilty of six counts of rape and one of sexual assault, but the same jury was unable to reach a verdict on another count of rape and one of attempted rape.
There was a retrial and Mendy was found not guilty of one count of rape and one count of attempted rape.
In April, a High Court tax debt case against Mendy was dismissed after he paid a £700,000 bill.
The Employment Tribunal hearing is expected to last two days.