Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy signs for new club after being cleared of rape

Benjamin Mendy, who played for Manchester City between July 2017 and June 2023, has returned to soccer with Ligue 1 club Lorient having been found not guilty of raping one woman and attempting to rape another last week.

Retrial finds Mendy not guilty of sexual assault

Six different women had made allegations of sexual assault against the 29-year-old between October 2018 and August 2021, with Mendy cleared of four charges in January. The jury were unable to reach a verdict on the remaining two, which led to a retrial. He was acquitted at Chester Crown Court in England last Friday.

Defender frozen out and released by City

After the Frenchman, who has played 10 times for his country, was charged in August 2021, City stopped paying his wages, with his last appearance for the club coming on 15 August 2021, the opening day of the 2021/22 season, away to Tottenham Hotspur.

The left-back, who joined the Premier League champions from Monaco for a reported fee of €57.5 million (over $64.5 million) six years ago, was released at the end of his contract last month and having now cleared his name, has signed for Lorient on a two-year deal.

The Brittany-based club first appeared in France’s top division in 1998 and they have spent 16 seasons in Ligue 1 since then, with their highest ever finishing coming in 2009/10, when they were seventh. The 2023/24 campaign will see them compete at that level for a fourth successive year after their 10th-place finish last season.