Former Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy borrowed money from team-mates for legal fees and child support after he was charged with sexual offences, an employment tribunal heard on Monday. Mendy is claiming £11.5 million ($15 million) in unpaid wages by the Premier League champions, who stopped paying him after he was charged with rape and sexual assault in 2021. The ex-France international was found not guilty of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in January 2023, but the same jury could not reach a verdict on another count of rape and one count of attempted rape.

After a retrial, Mendy was found not guilty of both charges.

Mendy, who joined City from Monaco for a reported £52 million in 2017, was released by the club in June 2023 following the expiry of his contract.

Court documents shared with the Manchester employment tribunal said Mendy “very quickly ran out of money” and had to sell his Cheshire mansion to cover legal fees, bills and child support payments after his wages were withheld.

“I struggled to pay my child support, I felt awful,” the footballer said in a witness statement.

“Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez all lent me money to help me try and pay my legal fees and support my family.”

Mendy, who now plays for French Ligue 2 club Lorient, claimed to have been assured by a senior City official he would receive his unpaid wages once he had been cleared of the charges.

The club continued paying Mendy’s £500,000 a month salary following his first arrest in November 2020, but argued they did not have to after he was charged because of his bail conditions and a Football Association suspension meant he was not able to perform his duties as a player.

“At no point have Manchester City apologised to me or even acknowledged how their actions almost cost me everything,” added Mendy’s witness statement.

“I believe that it is fair and just for me to be paid the wages that I would have earned but for being falsely arrested for crimes that I did not commit.”

The employment tribunal is expected to last for two days.

English-born winger Michael Olise was rewarded for his impressive performances for France at the Olympics by being called up to the full French national team Thursday for the start of their UEFA Nations League campaign next month. The 22-year-old, who was born and brought up in London to a Nigerian father and French-Algerian mother, was arguably the standout player in Thierry Henry‘s France team that won the Olympic silver medal at the Paris Games earlier this month.

He has also recently joined Bayern Munich from Crystal Palace for a reported 60 million euros ($66.6m), off the back of scoring 10 goals in 19 games in the Premier League last season.

“Michael did great things with Thierry Henry’s Olympic team and he has moved up into a new category with his transfer to Bayern Munich,” coach Didier Deschamps told reporters.

“It is quite logical that he should now come with us. He still has progress to make but potentially he has a lot of quality.”

France host Italy at the Parc des Princes in Paris next Friday, September 6, before taking on Belgium three days later in Lyon.

Olise is not the only member of the Olympic squad to make the step up, with 23-year-old Borussia Moenchengladbach midfielder Manu Kone also getting the call from Deschamps.

There is also a return to the squad for Chelsea centre-back Wesley Fofana, 23, whose only cap so far came in a Euro 2024 qualifier against Gibraltar over a year ago.

Kylian Mbappe will feature for France for the first time since making his debut for new club Real Madrid.

Players who went to Euro 2024 in Germany — where France reached the semi-final — but have been left out this time, include Inter Milan defender Benjamin Pavard, Bayern winger Kingsley Coman, and midfielder Adrien Rabiot.

The latter was a regular at the Euros but his absence from the squad is related to the fact he currently has no club after leaving Juventus when his contract expired.

Veteran striker Olivier Giroud, now playing for Major League Soccer outfit Los Angeles FC, retired from international duty after the European Championship.

Les Bleus, who won the Nations League in 2021, will also play Israel in League A Group 2, with remaining matches taking place in October and November.

France squad:

Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (West Ham United/ENG), Mike Maignan (AC Milan/ITA), Brice Samba (Lens)

Defenders: Jonathan Clauss (Nice), Wesley Fofana (Chelsea/ENG), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan/ITA), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool/ENG), Jules Kounde (Barcelona/ESP), Ferland Mendy (Real Madrid/ESP), William Saliba (Arsenal/ENG), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich/GER)

Midfielders: Youssouf Fofana (AC Milan/ITA), N’Golo Kante (Al Ittihad/KSA), Manu Kone (Borussia Moenchengladbach/GER), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid/ESP), Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain)

Forwards: Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembele (both Paris Saint-Germain), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid/ESP), Randal Kolo Muani (Paris Saint-Germain), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid/ESP), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich/GER), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan/ITA)