Ex-Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy is chasing millions of pounds of back pay from his former club and is selling his house in a bid to avoid bankruptcy, the High Court has heard.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is seeking a bankruptcy order against the France international over a nearly £800,000 tax debt, a specialist judge was told.
The hearing in London on Wednesday comes less than a month after the 29-year-old was cleared of rape and attempted rape at Chester Crown Court.
Jacquille Jarrett, representing HMRC, said proceedings at the Insolvency and Companies Court had previously been postponed pending the outcome of the criminal trial and for a settlement of Mendy’s debt from backdated salary or the sale of his property.
“There has been no contact from the debtor,” Jarrett said, adding: “The agreement advises that an update would be given to HMRC but no contact was made.
“We look to secure a bankruptcy order today.”
Mendy’s accountant, who refused to give reporters his full name, told the hearing the now Lorient defender “was found not guilty in respect of those very serious criminal charges against him”.
He said Manchester City had not paid Mendy, who was not present at Wednesday’s hearing, since September 2021.
The accountant said Mendy’s agent is “in negotiations with Manchester City to get the back pay on the basis that he has been found not guilty”.
The sum is “in the order of nine to 10 million pounds gross”, the accountant told the court.
He also said Mendy’s house in Cheshire is being marketed by estate agent Savills for £5million.
“He himself has moved back to France where he comes from,” the accountant said.
“I would like to ask for a short extension because I am told very firmly by his agent that the pay issue will be resolved from Manchester City.
“He was very short of money indeed, the cost of the legal case were over one million pounds.”
Mendy left City in June at the expiration of his contract, having not played for the European champions since August 2021.
He has since signed a two-year deal with French club Lorient.
Judge Clive Jones told Wednesday’s hearing that Mendy’s HMRC debt is £788,409.
Criticising Mendy, the judge said: “I’m very unimpressed at the lack of information that’s been provided both to HMRC and to the court prior to this hearing.
“That, I really think, is the wrong step for him to take,” he said, adding that Mendy must attend any further hearing or be legally represented.
The judge adjourned the bankruptcy proceedings to 11am on October 4 to allow Mendy to sell his house.
He said he has been told there is “more than sufficient equity in a house”, adding that “time should be given to enable payment to be made”.
“I also bear in mind that there are also negotiations in place about the backdated pay,” the judge said, adding that Mendy could be being paid “a large sum in wages” in France.
On July 14 this year, jurors found the full-back not guilty of a charge of rape and one of attempted rape, following a three-week trial at Chester Crown Court.
Mendy had been on trial for a second time, the jury failing to reach verdicts on the allegations made by two women.
In his first trial, lasting six months and ending in January, he was cleared of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, relating to four other young women or teenagers.
Taylor proud of 'gritty' Man City display in Hammarby victory
Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his Manchester City players handled the atmosphere against Hammarby to secure their passage into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Khadija Shaw opened the scoring in the 31st minute before Ellen Wangerheim restored parity shortly after the interval with a finish from close range.
But Shaw continued her fine start to the campaign, scoring the winner to become City's all-time top scorer in the competition, surpassing Georgia Stanway and Janine Beckie (both six).
The result saw City make it to the last eight of the competition for the first time since 2021, though the encounter was far from comfortable at the Tele2 Arena on Thursday.
Hammarby ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.15 compared to the visitors' 1.07, despite both sides having 14 shots throughout the match.
However, City maintained their unbeaten record against Swedish sides in the competitor (W6), and Taylor was proud of his side's "gritty" display in Stockholm.
“I’m really pleased. It was about qualification for us tonight," Taylor said.
"There were a couple of ways we could do it. Obviously, we knew a point was enough, but I don’t think the players were thinking that way.
“It was a really gritty performance on a really difficult on this pitch. It probably doesn’t look like that for the viewers at home watching it.
"But it was a really lively surface and we worked so hard.
“I felt there were some areas we could control the play better. I have to give credit to Hammarby, they were really aggressive.
"The referee was on our side a little bit in the first half and maybe not in the second.
“I’m really pleased and proud of the players, they really dug in tonight. You come away from a hostile environment with a win.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
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