Benjamin Mendy cleared of rape and attempted rape

Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has been found not guilty of raping a young woman and the attempted rape of another.

The 28-year-old broke down in tears as the not guilty verdicts were given by the jury foreman following a three-week trial at Chester Crown Court.

He had stood for the verdicts but sank to his seat, his head on his knees, wiping away tears with a white tissue.

Mendy, whose contract with the Premier League champions ended on 1 July, was cleared of attempting to rape a woman, aged 29 at the time, at his £4m mansion in Mottram St Andrew, Cheshire in October 2018.

He was also found not guilty of the rape of a second woman, aged 24, two years later also at his home address.

The 10-cap France international is alleged to have later told her "it's fine, I’ve had sex with 10,000 women", the court heard.

The jury of six men and six women were out for around three hours and 15 minutes before returning their verdicts.

Judge Steven Everett responded: "Mr Mendy can be discharged from the dock."

His trial was a retrial, having been cleared by a jury earlier this year of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, relating to four young women or teenagers, following a six-month trial.

Jurors failed to reach verdicts on the two counts of rape and attempted rape he was retried with.