Benjamin Mendy went from £28m Man City contract to earning ‘£4 a day’ in prison
Benjamin Mendy, who signed a six-year contract worth £28million at Manchester City in 2017, said he learned the value of money while earning £4 a day in prison.
The 28-year-old, who denies seven counts of rape against four women, one count of attempted rape and one count of sexual assault, is currently on trial at Chester Crown Court having been remanded in custody.
Appearing in court on Monday (November 7), Mendy told the jury that his time in prison was "the first time in my life I was working on something else than football".
"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 teached [sic] me the value of money."
Speaking of his time in prison, he added: "At the same time, I was sad, upset to go in there, but the same time I learned a lot of things about life."
Mendy also told the court that he now prefers to be on his own.
Also on trial is Mendy’s friend Louis Saha Matturie, 41, who allegedly helped find young women for Mendy. Saha Matturie denies six counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
Previously, Mendy was cleared of the rape of a 19-year-old woman, which was alleged to have occurred at his home in Prestbury. Saha Matturie was also found not guilty of two counts of rape and one of sexual assault against the same woman.
Judge Stephen Everett ordered the jury to clear the two defendants of those counts by returning formal not guilty verdicts, after the prosecution offered no further evidence.
Mendy joined City from Monaco for a reported £52million back in July of 2017, going on to win three Premier League titles having made 10 appearances for the France national side.
A jury of eight men and four women were sworn in for the trial in early August, which is expected to last for more than three months. The trial continues.
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