Benjamin Mendy beams with joy on emotional FaceTime with Paul Pogba after rape acquittal
Paul Pogba has shared his delight after friend Benjamin Mendy was cleared of rape and attempted rape following a two-week trial at Chester Crown Court
Paul Pogba has shared a picture of Benjamin Mendy beaming with joy after the former Manchester City defender was cleared of rape charges.
Mendy was accused of raping one woman in October 2020 and of attempting to rape a second woman in 2018. The 28-year-old pleaded not guilty to both charges and, after jurors were sent out to deliberate on Friday morning (July 14), they came back with not guilty verdicts just over four hours later.
The World Cup winner wept in the dock as he was acquitted. After becoming emotional as the verdicts were announced, he was released from the dock. He also looked close to tears as he left Chester Crown Court, where he was met by a media scrum.
One of his first calls following the verdict was to old pal Pogba, his international team-mate with France, who has shared a screenshot from a FaceTime between the pair on Instagram.
READ MORE: Benjamin Mendy found not guilty of rape charges as tearful ex-Man City player walks free
The image, which shows Mendy smiling with Pogba in the corner, is accompanied with the message: "Al Hamdullilah [praise be to God in Arabic] so happy for you bro .. all the people that was talking bad about you NoW. I wanna see them cleaning your name. Can’t wait to see on the pitch again.”
At the time of writing, the post had already been liked more than 300,000 times.
Following his acquittal, a statement released on Mendy’s behalf by Jenny Wiltshire, head of serious and general crime at Hickman & Rose, said: "Benjamin Mendy would like to thank the members of the jury for focusing on the evidence in this trial, rather than on the rumour and innuendo that have followed this case from the outset.
"This is the second time that Mr Mendy has been tried and found not guilty by a jury. He is delighted that both juries reached the correct verdicts.
"It has been almost three years since the police started investigating this matter. Mr Mendy has tried to remain strong but the process has, inevitably had a serious impact on him.
"He thanks everyone who has supported him throughout this ordeal and now asks for privacy so he can begin rebuilding his life."
Mendy is currently a free agent after being released by City upon on the expiry of his contract. Meanwhile, Pogba is preparing for the new season with Juventus, the club he rejoined last summer from Manchester United.