French international Benjamin Mendy will rebound at FC Lorient with whom he signed on Wednesday for two seasons, five days after the end of his legal setbacks in the United Kingdom, where he was found not guilty of rape and attempted rape . “FC Lorient is pleased to announce today the signing for two seasons of French international left-back Benjamin Mendy (29),” FC Lorient said in a statement, almost two years after the defender’s last official match with Man City.
A rookie who comes to “strengthen the Lorient workforce”, welcomes the club, recalling Mendy’s prestigious record: “World champion 2018, four-time winner of the Premier League under the colors of Manchester City and champion of France in Ligue 1 with Monaco in particular”. The defender with 10 selections with the Blues, had been suspended by Manchester City after the accusations brought against him by several women. Manchester did not renew his contract which expired on June 30.
Two trials
In October 2020, the footballer, a regular at parties in his luxurious home, was accused of the rape of a 24-year-old woman and the attempted rape of a 29-year-old woman two years earlier. Charges that he strongly contested, ensuring that these relationships, which took place at his home, were consented to. Benjamin Mendy had been imprisoned at the end of August 2021 and had spent more than four months in pre-trial detention, before being released at the beginning of January 2022, and placed under judicial supervision pending his first trial. During the first trial in Chester (north of England), after four months of hearing, the jury declared him not guilty in January of six rapes and a sexual assault.
In June, a new jury considered in a second trial the two charges on which the jury had failed to reach a verdict in January. At the end of these three weeks of hearing, Benjamin Mendy was declared not guilty of rape and attempted rape on Friday, putting an end to all the charges against him in British justice. In tears at the statement of this verdict, Mendy then refused to answer questions from journalists.
After his acquittal, the player had received support from other players on social networks, such as Paul Pogba, Memphis Depay and Vinicius Jr. The announcement of his arrival in Lorient on Wednesday provoked sometimes hostile reactions on the Twitter and Instagram accounts of the FC Lorient.
Two years without playing
In addition to the blurred image that such a recruitment will create, the Breton club welcomes a player who has not played since August 15, 2021, during an English championship match, against Tottenham. An absence from the lawns of almost two years which questions the state of form of the defender trained in Le Havre, before revealing himself at Olympique de Marseille. Especially since the career of the native of Longjumeau (Essonne) has already been peppered with physical glitches and periods of poor form. Powerful left back, focused on the attack and dangerous in the percussion, he sometimes struggled to control his weight and adopt a healthy lifestyle, negligence regularly noted by his coaches.
Injuries caught up with him in his early twenties, between a serious right knee injury before the 2018 World Cup, left knee surgery four months later, then another meniscus affected in early 2019. “I do not despair” that he “Take more care of your body,” coach Didier Deschamps stung him in November 2019, when he called him back to the Blues. His coach in Manchester, Pep Guardiola, also pinned his behavior after a nightclub outing revealed in the local press.
After three seasons in Marseille and then one in Monaco, Mendy’s story took on the air of a fairy tale when he became the most expensive defender in history in 2017 by joining Manchester. The Citizens had paid 52 million pounds (about 61.4 million euros at the current price) to secure his services. The Frenchman has won four Premier League titles, a Cup and a League Cup with the Mancunian club.