Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has signed for Ligue 1 side Lorient five days after being cleared of rape charges.
Mendy, whose City contract expired in the summer, has signed a two-year deal with the French club. Mendy won three Premier League titles with Manchester City in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
Lorient announced Mendy’s return to French football in a statement that reads: “Benjamin Mendy, world champion 2018, quadruple winner of the Premier League under the colours of Manchester City and French champion of Ligue 1 with Monaco, comes to reinforce the Lorient workforce for this new season. Welcome Benjamin.”
The 29-year-old was cleared of all charges at Chester Crown Court last week on Friday of raping a woman and attempting to rape another. These were the last of eight charges the Frenchman was facing after being found not guilty of six others in January this year.
Mendy joined Manchester City from Monaco in a then-world record fee for a defender of £52 million in 2017. He won the Premier League in his first season with Manchester City before being part of the France squad that won the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The defender’s last competitive match was in August 2021 as he featured for Manchester City in a Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur before getting arrested later that month and remanded for five months.
Manchester City subsequently suspended him and removed all his merchandise and images from the club’s online and physical stores pending his trial.
After he was acquitted, several high-profile players like compatriot Paul Pogba, Netherlands international Memphis Depay, and Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr reached out to Mendy and took to social media to show him their support.
