MANCHESTER City have released a statement today on Benjamin Mendy after the star was cleared of raping women at his mansion. Mendy was found not guilty of raping the women during lockdown-busting parties.
Man City has now released a statement following today’s court findings
The Man City star was accused of being a “predator” who “turned the pursuit of women for sex into a game”.
Mendy, 28, also allegedly locked his victims in a “panic room” and hid their phones so they could not escape.
But the French international was today found not guilty of six rapes and one sexual assault against four women.
Jurors could not reach verdicts on one count of rape and one of attempted rape against two other alleged victims.
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The football club released a statement after the verdict – but before the announcement that he would face a retrial.
It read: “Manchester City FC notes the verdict from Chester Crown Court today, where a jury has found Benjamin Mendy not guilty of seven charges.
“The jury is hung on two charges and the trial is now over.
“Given there are open matters related to this case, the club is not in a position to comment further at this time.”
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A retrial for Mendy, who remains in custody, has now been set for June 26, with a pre-trial hearing set to be held on January 27.
The re-trial is expected to last two or three weeks.
Earlier, Judge Everett brought jurors back into court and asked if they would reach further verdicts if given more time.
The foreman of the jury replied: “No. We are at a point now where we can’t agree.”
Judge Everett told them: “It is not unusual that jurors don’t reach verdicts on some counts. You have to be true to your duty.”
During a six-month trial, jurors were told the left-back lured young women into “toxic and dangerous” situations at his six-bedroom Cheshire home.
Co-defendant Louis Saha Matturie acted as Mendy’s “fixer” by getting girls as young as 17 to attend the lockdown-busting parties after nights spent in the VIP sections of clubs drinking £1,500 bottles of Champagne, it was said.
Some of his victims claimed their phones were taken away from them on arrival leaving them unable to call for help.
Once inside, the women were allegedly treated as “disposable…used for sex then thrown to one side”.

But his lawyer Eleanor Laws KC told jurors to end Mendy’s “absolute hell” and acquit him.
She said claims he used his fame to attack women – with the prosecution comparing him to Jimmy Savile – were “utterly ridiculous”. More

THREE Leicester City stars were dropped from their clash against West Ham after being reprimanded for breaching covid rules, Sun Online can reveal.James Maddison, Hamza Choudhury and Ayoze Perez were pulled up in front of Brendan Rodgers for an alleged breach of Premier League guidelines on squad bubbles.
Maddison is one of three players who have breen dropped after breaching Covid regulationsCredit: EPA
Perez breached Covid rules along with Maddison, Choudhury and BarnesCredit: EPA
Under Premier League rules, players are tested for coronavirus twice weekly.
Dozens of professional football matches were postponed earlier this season after Covid outbreaks and there were calls for the season to be paused in December.
It is understood Choudhury, £100,000-a-week Maddison, 24 – who has one England cap – , Perez – and injured Harvey Barnes, 23 – were called in at 6pm on Tuesday following an alleged breach.
Of the four players, Barnes was the only one who was already unavailable for the West Ham clash due to injury.
A Leicester City spokesman said: “The club has made its expectations around adherence to Covid-19 protocols abundantly clear to all its personnel.
“It is extremely disappointing, therefore, to learn of a breach that had the potential to undermine the efforts of club staff to protect the environments in which our teams train and play. Appropriate measures have been taken to prevent our team bubbles being compromised.
“We wholly expect our people to behave in a way that reflects the national effort and the sacrifices made by our communities to control the spread of the virus.
“Those involved have apologised for their poor judgement. Our response to the matter will be concluded internally.”
Their absence was felt by Leicester, who lost 3-2 to West Ham – although they did show fight, nearly snatching a draw having been 3-0 down.
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Choudhury has played 20 times for Leicester this season, just nine of which have come in the Premier LeagueCredit: Getty
Barnes would have missed the game with West Ham anyway due to an injuryCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

Meanwhile, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers remained coy when asked why the trio had been dropped.
He said: “Not available for this game.
“But after this game it will be fine, they will join the group next week and be ready for next week’s semi-final.”

The most recent Covid breach by Premier League players comes just one month after Brighton’s Aaron Connolly was caught on video breaching regulations.
And among the England internationals who have broken coronavirus rules, Aston Villa duo Jack Grealish and Ross Barkley were caught partying in London back in December.
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WEST HAM paid thousands of pounds for Jesse Lingard’s unsuccessful trial, according to reports. Lingard, 30, had been working out with the Hammers but did not earn a deal before jetting to Saudi Arabia to join Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq instead.
Jesse Lingard is now on trial at Al-EttifaqCredit: Instagram @ettifaq
Lingard trained for six weeks at West Ham with reports claiming they paid thousands in travel and accommodation costsCredit: Reuters
But the arrangement still hit West Ham in the pocket, with the club putting the former Manchester United star up in a hotel for six weeks as he trained with the first team.
According to the Daily Mail, they Hammers also arranged all of Lingard’s transport due to his six-month driving ban.
In July, the 32-cap England star pleaded guilty to failing to give police the name of the driver of his car after it was caught speeding last year.
The midfielder’s Range Rover was flashed by a speed camera on the A56 in Trafford.
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He was fined £900 plus a further £560 in costs, and received his half-a-year road ban following a “totting up” process from points already on his licence from two previous speeding offences.
Lingard’s lawyer claimed he was not the driver but missed the letter telling him to provide the drivers’ details as it went to his old address in Manchester while he was then living in Nottingham.
Reports suggested West Ham were considering a contract offer for Lingard.
However, they pulled their interest when he flew to Saudi Arabia to train with Al-Ettifaq.
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Lingard has been without a club since his one-year deal with Nottingham Forest expired last season.
The England international – who has not played for the Three Lions since 2021 – failed to score a single league goal for Steve Cooper’s side.
The free agent spent 20 years at boyhood Man Utd before leaving in 2022.
Lingard was handed a six-month driving ban earlier this yearCredit: PA More

EDEN HAZARD believes that Lionel Messi is the world’s greatest ever footballer.The Belgian, 33, hung up his boots back in October.
Eden Hazard retired from football last yearCredit: Reuters

Hazard enjoyed seven sensational seasons at Chelsea after moving from Lille in 2012.
He then struggled during an injury-hit four-year stint at Real Madrid.
Despite having offers to prolong his career, Hazard opted to call it a day.
Chatting with French paper L’Equipe, the attacker reflected on which players might have been better than him – and did not say Cristiano Ronaldo.
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He said: “Individually, Messi is perhaps the only one.
“I loved watching the Barcelona player, less so at the end, but he’s the greatest in history.
“It’s impossible to take the ball away from him.
“Cristiano is a bigger player than me but, in terms of pure football, I honestly don’t think so. Neymar, maybe.
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“After that, he’s no better than me, but at Real, you’ve got the best, also in terms of their careers: (Karim) Benzema, (Luka) Modric, they were the best, (Toni) Kroos, Kev (De Bruyne), they all exude football.”
Messi and Ronaldo have both played more games, scored more goals and laid on more assists than Hazard did during his brilliant career.
The Argentine has scored 821 goals in 1,033 games for club and country – while his next assist will be the 400th of his career.
Ronaldo, who turns 39 on Monday, has netted 867 times in 1,198 games – including a remarkable 450 in just 438 outings for Real Madrid.
The Portuguese has also laid on 282 assists.
Messi has won a record eight Ballons d’Or, while Ronaldo has five.
They have won nine Champions Leagues between them, in addition to numerous league titles.
The Argentine also inspired his side to World Cup glory, while Ronaldo won Euro 2016.
Hazard, meanwhile, scored 200 goals and laid on 193 assists in 748 games across his career.
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He inspired Lille to a stunning Ligue 1 and Coupe de France double, before winning two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two League Cups and a pair of Europa Leagues at Chelsea.
The diminutive star struggled at Real Madrid, scoring just seven goals in 76 outings for them – but he did pick up two LaLiga winners medals as well as the Champions League during his stint at Santiago Bernabeu.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both winding towards the end of their amazing careersCredit: Getty Images – Getty More

JOHN FURY has named a boxer better than WBC heavyweight champion son, Tyson’s, rival Oleksandr Usyk – and it’s NOT Deontay Wilder or Wladimir Klitschko.Tyson, 34, has fought a number of top heavyweights in his near 15-year career.
John Fury has named a boxer better than Tyson’s rival, Oleksandr UsykCredit: PA
Steve Cunningham dropped Tyson Fury in their 2013 fight – and dad John says he’s better than UsykCredit: Action Images – Reuters
Dad John rates former cruiserweight world champion, Steve Cunningham, at the top of the list.
Tyson made his US debut at Madison Square Garden in New York against Cunningham in 2013.
Despite Tyson having a six inch height advantage and being 44 lbs heavier than Cunningham, the Gypsy King was dropped in Round Two.
Tyson managed to make it back to his feet and went on to stop Cunningham in Round Seven.
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Ahead of a potential heavyweight unification fight with WBA, IBF, and WBO champ Usyk, who was also King of the cruiserweights at one point in time like Cunningham, John believes Tyson will have no problems with the Ukrainian.
John told talkSPORT: “Usyk, look at him, he’s just too small, mate.
“He’s a great little boxer, he’s probably a lovely fella, I’ve got nothing against him at all, I like the Ukrainian people, it’s a great country and I wish them all the very best, they’re struggling at the moment with their own problems, but Usyk talking boxing lingo, just too small for Tyson, he’s got nothing to beat him with.
“I thought Steve Cunningham was a better fighter than Usyk back in the day, Cunningham was better than Usyk.
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“You know at cruiserweight, Steve Cunningham was unbeatable because he had everything.
“He had speed, he had power, he could move around the ring, great coordination.
“You know, it’s just that boxing has moved on, but not for the better, the guys just seem to be doing all this modern technique, it just looks awful to the eye.
“To me, they’ve got a lot right, but they’ve got a lot wrong as well, but we stick to the old school methods. You know they work.
“I’ve seen Usyk fight Joshua twice, he ain’t beating Tyson him, definitely not.
“I’m not just saying because he’s my own son, but he’s been out there 34 times unbeaten, you know I’ve not been wrong yet, so there you are, Tyson’s the king of the ring.”
Tyson Fury has taken on some of heavyweight’s greats, including Deontay Wilder in a trilogyCredit: AP
Wladimir Klitschko was also beaten by Tyson FuryCredit: Reuters More