Mendy signs with Lorient after being cleared of rape

LORIENT, France (AP) — World Cup winner Benjamin Mendy signed a two-year deal with French soccer club Lorient on Wednesday, only days after the France international was found not guilty of raping a woman and the attempted rape of another.

The 29-year-old Mendy left Manchester City last month after his contract expired. He had not played for the Champions League winners since 2021.

“After passing the traditional medical, Benjamin Mendy, a 2018 world champion, four-time Premier League winner with Manchester City and Ligue 1 French champion with Monaco among others, has strengthened Lorient’s squad for the new season,” Lorient said in a statement.

The France left back was cleared at a retrial of attempting to rape a woman — who was 29 at the time — at his home in October 2018. He was also found not guilty of the rape of a second woman two years later also at his home address.

Mendy denied the charges and said the incidents were consensual encounters.

Earlier this year, Mendy was cleared by a jury 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 counts of rape and attempted rape, leading to the retrial.

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