Dylan Bettencourt
Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy chose to plead not guilty to nine counts of sexual offences, including seven rapes.
The left back appeared at the Chester Crown Court on Monday.
Mendy was suspended by the Premier League champions when he was first charged last August.
He appeared in court alongside co-accused Louis Saha Matturie before their trial began on 25 July.
The charges faced by the 27-year-old include seven rapes, one attempted rape and one sexual assault.
Mendy was charged with four counts of rape before an additional two accusations were brought forward, two months after he was initially charged.
When the charges were put to Mendy on Monday, he simply replied “not guilty”.
All nine counts are reported to have taken place at the home of the French international between October 2018 and last August.
Co-accused Matturie also pleaded not guilty.
However, the 40-year-old had 12 counts of sexual assault levelled against him, including eight rape allegations and four sexual assault charges between July 2012 and last August.
The trial, set to begin in July, will involve 21 counts of sexual assault involving 12 women.
One of the women is said to be under the age of 18.
Mendy joined Manchester City from Monaco in 2017 for what was at the time a world record fee for a defender in a deal worth £52 million (R1 billion).
He has not appeared for the club since being suspended nine months ago and is unlikely to feature for the Manchester club ever again.
Both defendants remain out on bail.
Image source: @Eurosport
