Dylan Bettencourt
Four Manchester City players will take the witness stand in the rape trial of Benjamin Mendy.
The 28-year-old pleaded not guilty to another charge of rape during his plea ahead of the trial that is due to begin on Monday at the Chester Crown Court.
The jury members read the names of Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, Riyah Mahrez and John Stones – players who either play or played for the Manchester club.
The jurors were made to select from a list of 38 names of potential witnesses or those that could be referred to during the trial.
Mendy has now denied eight counts of rape, one count of sexual assault and another of attempted rape.
The trial is set to last over three months and could go through to November.
The charges of rape and sexual assault are relating to eight young women with the incidents said to have taken place at the home of Mendy between October 2018 and last August.
The defender will go on trial along with co-defendant Louis Saha Matturie, who has also denied all accusations.
Judge Steven Everett told the jury that they mustn’t be overwhelmed by the 22 counts or charges against the two men.
“There are 22 counts or charges, if you are feeling overwhelmed by that I can assure you will be having a lot of assistance on how you will approach that,” he said.
“Don’t feel daunted or overwhelmed.”
Mendy joined Manchester City for a record fee in 2017 from French side AS Monaco. He made 50 Premier League appearances before being suspended by the club following his charges.
Both he and Matturie remain on bail.
Image source: @BenchWarmers
