‘I know I’m not Brad Pitt, but women came onto me’ – Man City star Benjamin Mendy tells rape trial
Football star Benjamin Mendy told his rape trial: ‘I know I’m not Brad Pitt, but women came onto me – not for my looks but because of football.’
The Manchester City defender told the jury that women started to approach him from the age of 18 when he was playing for Marseille in the French first division.
But he told the jury at Chester Crown Court ‘it became ten times more at Man City – one of the best teams in Europe.’
Mendy, 28, started giving evidence in his own defence to a string of alleged sex crimes including seven rapes yesterday afternoon.
The £52million star, dressed in a blue three piece suit, white shirt and black and white patterned tie, took the oath on the Koran before answering questions from his barrister Eleanor Laws KC.
He said his £52million move from Monaco to Premiership champions City in 2017 was ‘a dream.’
The World Cup winner with France said he went to nightclubs two or three times a week after joining City and met woman there, many of whom were invited back to his £4.7million mansion The Spinney in Prestbury, Cheshire.
He told the jury: ‘I was enjoying the house, I was enjoying the women. I was so happy to be here, so excited. I was excited about the football as well.’
Ms Laws asked him how easy it was for him to meet women after he became a professional footballer, first for Le Havre, then Marseille and Monaco before moving to City.
He said:’ Honestly, it was so easy. At the beginning I did not know why but then I realised it was because of my status.’
Ms Laws asked him about his attitude to having sex with women he did not know particularly well.
Mendy said: ‘I was direct about what I wanted and direct about what they wanted .At the time I was not thinking, like, if they could be upset. If they wanted sex and I wanted sex, it was fine. I was carrying on with my party. I was enjoying sex with a lot of women.
‘Most of the time it was them coming onto me but sometimes I go to them.’
Ms Laws asked what he would do if a woman said no.
Mendy said: ‘I would be fine, I would accept it and I would stop. I like to have sex with someone who is enjoying it also.’
He admitted that he did not worry about using contraception.
The player told the jury: ‘It is not a nice thing to say but at the time I did not worry. I knew the risks.’
He was asked about sleeping with more than one woman on the same night and replied: ‘For me, it was normal but I realise now it sounds strange.’
The City star said he now realises that his attitude toward women was ‘disrespectful’.
He added that his career at the club was blighted by serious knee injuries which made him ‘ feel sad ‘ and he held parties to make feel better which he now regrets.
The court heard that he was put on remand in prison between August 2021 and January 2022 .
He said: ‘I had time to think about my life and what I was doing, the way I was living. The partying I was doing, inside I had some pain.’
Mendy, who gave his evidence in English but had a French interpreter by his side in the witness box, said he was ‘ashamed’ to talk about sex.
He added: ‘More embarrassed, like when you ask me the question, I can’t scream “yeah I love sex” because it would seem weird.’
He was asked about his feelings toward women now and said: ‘I didn’t know I could hurt their feelings if we were both OK to have sex.’
Mendy denies seven counts of rape, one of attempted rape and one sexual assault.
His co-defendant and alleged fixer, Louis Saha Matturie, 41, from Eccles, Greater Manchester denies six counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
The trial continues.