Benjamin Mendy: Manchester City footballer went from earning £90,000 to £28 per week

It was a speech that was expected. Yesterday in Chester, during his trial, football player Benjamin Mendy spoke to the judges and explained what he is accused of.

Benjamin Mendy speaks out

His trial began in mid-August but it was not until yesterday, Monday 7 November, that former French world champion Mendy spoke for the first time. He spoke about his entry into football at Chester Crown Court, as reported by 20 Minutes. He was given the opportunity to talk about his career, arrival in the professional league, and especially his impact at Manchester City.

Mendy talks about his relationship with women

But what the lawyers at the trial wanted to know was how the footballer behaved with women and the nature of the relationships he had with them. Without deflecting, Mendy said:

It was so easy with women and to have relationships with them (...) The way women came to me, I had never had that before.

He also revealed that he received a lot of messages from women on social networks. Mendy said:

I know I'm not Brad Pitt and I know women didn't come to me for what I look like.

...The way they came to me is not because of the way I look, it is because of football.

Moreover, according to him, he could have several partners in one night.

Mendy admitted to the court that he whispered to a woman he is accused of trying to rape 'I'm going to kidnap you'. Later that night at his home, Mendy told the woman that he asked her boyfriend 'if it was okay' they had sex and he said 'yes'.

A stark change in salary

Mendy's estimated net worth is more than £25 million and he was reportedly earning a salary of £90,000 a week at Manchester City. However, when he was remanded in custody for four months, he experienced a stark change in lifestyle:

I was earning like £4 every day, to spend it in the canteen to buy some food. It is the first time I was really careful. The life I had before, everything I wanted to have, I just buy it. So it taught me the value of money.

In addition, Mendy told the court that the football club stopped paying his salary in September 2021.

This article has been translated from Gentside FR.

Sources used:

20 Minutes: Benjamin Mendy « Je ne suis pas Brad Pitt, elles ne venaient pas pour mon look », déclare le joueur

The Sun: Benjamin Mendy admits telling ‘rape victim’ he’d ‘kidnap’ her before ‘confronting her in shower’

Sky News: Benjamin Mendy: Man City footballer told woman her boyfriend said it would be 'okay' if they had sex, court hears

Mirror: Benjamin Mendy's life and net worth ahead of footballer's pre-trial rape hearing

Daily Mail: Manchester City stopped paying Benjamin Mendy's wages - which are more than £100k-a-week - in September last year, after the French defender was charged with a string of sex offences