Manchester City suspend Mendy pending Police investigation

Manchester City have announced that the club has suspended French left back Benjamin Mendy until the conclusion of police investigation after a case involving sex-related crimes was filed against the defender by three complainants.

Manchester City signed the 27-year-old Benjamin Mendy from French side AS Monaco for a fee in the excess of £50 million after the Principality club emerged as champions of the French Ligue 1 in the 2016/17 season. The defender made a handful of appearances for the Cityzens in the 2017/18 season before picking up a serious knee injury which saw him miss a huge chunk of the season. The Frenchman was included in the France squad that won the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and he played in one match off the bench, against Denmark, in the group stage of the tournament.

The 27-year-old Frenchman has been charged with four counts of rape and one count of sexual assault between October 2020 and August 2021 by three complainants aged over 16, according to the Cheshire Constabulary. He is expected to make an appearance at the Cheshire Magistrates’ court on Friday, August 27th. Manchester City suspended the French international from the club pending the result of the investigation being carried out by the police. The club declined to further comment on the issue.

The defender has seen his Manchester City career till date blighted by numerous injuries, but has won the English Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and FA Community Shield with the club. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has opted to play Oleksandr Zinchenko and Joao Cancelo in place of Mendy at times due to his fitness issues. He was left out of the France squad to Euro 2020 by France manager Didier Deschamps. He started the 2021/22 season in the starting lineup of Manchester City, playing in their Community Shield defeat to Leicester City and their Premier League defeat to Tottenham before his place was taken by Joao Cancelo in their 5-0 win over Norwich City on matchday two.