When Benjamin Mendy will return to England after rape charges dropped
Benjamin Mendy’s date for return to football in England is revealed, as his new club play a pre-season friendly
- Benjamin Mendy could play football in England next month, it has been revealed
- The Frenchman, 29, was found not guilty of rape and attempted rape last week
- Mendy’s new club Lorient has announced a friendly vs Bournemouth in August
Benjamin Mendy will return to playing football in England next month after his new club organised a pre-season friendly against Bournemouth, it has been revealed.
Former Manchester City defender Mendy, 29, was found not guilty of rape and attempted rape last week.
But he could represent his new club Lorient against the Cherries at the Vitality Stadium on August 5, in Bournemouth’s final pre-season match before the Premier League season.
Lorient, who play in Ligue 1, offered Mendy an immediate return to top-level football and the chance to relaunch his career back in France after being found not guilty of a string of sex offences.
The ex-City left back, released at the end of his contract, has signed a two-year contract at the Stade du Moustoir.
The date Benjamin Mendy will return to football in England after his rape charges were dropped has been revealed
Former Manchester City left-back Mendy, 29, appeared emotional as he left Chester Crown Court having been cleared of one count of rape and another of attempted rape last Friday
The Brittany club were recently bought out by US businessman Bill Foley, who also owns Premier League team Bournemouth.
Foley is understood to have taken a 33 per cent slice of Lorient with a view to investing further at the end of the current season and a full takeover being completed in the future.
Jurors returned not guilty verdicts on one count of rape and a count of attempted rape at the end of a retrial at Chester Crown Court last week.
Mendy had been acquitted of six rapes and one sexual assault rating to four women during a first trial, which lasted four months, but faced a retrial on two separate counts.
Mendy wept in the dock last week when he was cleared of all charges. His lawyer, Eleanor Laws KC, had said his career in English football was ‘over’ and he has now sealed a move to Lorient, who finished mid-table last season.
He earned in the region of £100,000 a week while employed by the Premier League champions, although they stopped paying his wages in September 2021 after he was remanded in prison. It is likely that he has taken a significant pay cut to reboot a career on the west coast of France.
The France international, who won the World Cup in 2018, featured 75 times for City over six seasons. A host of professionals, including Memphis Depay and Vinicius Junior, offered him their support on social media last week once the verdicts were announced.
A Lorient statement read: ‘Benjamin Mendy, world champion 2018, quadruple winner of the Premier League under the colours of Manchester City and French champion of Ligue 1 with Monaco, comes to reinforce the Lorient workforce for this new season. Welcome Benjamin.’
Two days after being cleared Mendy showed up to a local kick-about in Manchester donning his former team’s kit as he shook hands and posed for photos with local lads
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