Former Manchester City footballer, Benjamin Mendy, received financial support from his team-mates after the club stopped paying his wages following charges of rape and sexual assault, an employment tribunal has been told.

The 30-year-old's £500,000 monthly salary was withheld by the club in 2021 after he was charged, according to testimony at the tribunal.

Fellow players Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, and Riyad Mahrez assisted the French international, who now claims he is owed £11.5 million in unpaid wages by the Premier League champions.

Mendy, who was eventually cleared of all charges, currently plays for Lorient in the French Ligue 2. He has initiated proceedings against Manchester City at an employment tribunal, alleging "unauthorised deductions" from his wages.

According to his contract, Mendy was entitled to a £900,000 bonus for appearing in 60% of matches, a £1 million bonus if City qualified for the Champions League, and an annual £1.2 million payment to his image rights company.

Court documents presented to the Manchester employment tribunal revealed that Mendy “very quickly ran out of money” after his wages were stopped. As a result, he was forced to sell his mansion in Cheshire to cover legal expenses, bills, and child support payments.

“I struggled to pay my child support, I felt awful,” Mendy stated in his witness testimony.

Mendy explained that his agent, Meissa N’diaye, contributed towards his legal costs, while his team-mates, including England international Raheem Sterling, provided him with “financial support.”

“Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, and Riyad Mahrez all lent me money to help me pay my legal fees and support my family,” Mendy said in his statement.

The left-back described the day he was charged in 2021 as the moment “my life was turned upside down forever.”

The tribunal also heard that Mendy had a penchant for partying, and he was held in custody from August 2021 to January 2022, and again between December 2022 and January 2023, after breaching his bail conditions by hosting and attending several parties.

In one instance, in January 2021, Mendy hosted a party at his multi-million pound home that lasted until 4am, despite having a match the next day, according to the tribunal.

Appearing via videolink, Mendy told the tribunal that he and his agent, N’diaye, had been assured by Manchester City’s then Chief Football Operations Officer, Omar Berrada, that he would receive his unpaid wages once he was cleared of the charges.

In November 2022, the footballer sent Berrada a WhatsApp message asking for written confirmation that the wages would be paid, but the tribunal heard that Berrada did not respond and denied ever making such an assurance.

After his acquittal, Mendy reached out to City’s chief executive, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, via email but once again received no reply.

Manchester City initially continued to pay Mendy following his first arrest in November 2020. However, the club later argued that they were not obliged to continue payments because his bail conditions and Football Association suspension meant he could not fulfil his duties as a player.

In his witness statement, Mendy said: “I would have thought that Manchester City, of all clubs, would understand the lack of control and frustration a person or organisation faces when being charged with false allegations, especially considering the Premier League charges they are currently dealing with.

"At no point have Manchester City apologised to me or even acknowledged how their actions nearly cost me everything.

"I believe it is fair and just for me to be paid the wages I would have earned, had I not been falsely accused of crimes I did not commit."

Mendy was found not guilty of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in January 2023. However, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on another count of rape and one count of attempted rape, leading to a retrial. In the retrial, Mendy was acquitted of both remaining charges.

In April, a High Court tax debt case against Mendy was dismissed after he settled a £700,000 bill.

The employment tribunal is expected to last for two days.