LONDON, Nov 16 — Manchester City and French international defender Benjamin Mendy has been charged with two additional counts of rape, prosecutors said today.

He now faces six counts of rape and one of sexual assault relating to four complainants aged over 16, with all the alleged offences relating to the period between October 2020 and August this year.

A second man, Louis Saha Matturie, has been charged with two more counts of rape and one of sexual assault, the Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement.

Mendy, 27, from Prestbury, and Matturie, 40, from Eccles, both in north-west England, are due to appear before magistrates in Stockport, near Manchester, tomorrow.

Court proceedings in Britain are subject to strict reporting restrictions before any trial, to avoid the risk of prejudicing a jury in their deliberations.

Both men previously appeared at Chester Crown Court on September 10, and were told they would stand trial on January 24 next year. The pair were remanded in custody.

Mendy, a £52 million (RM291 million) signing from Monaco in 2017, has played 75 times for City, winning three Premier League titles, but his playing time has been limited by injuries and a loss of form.

He has just under two years left to run on a six-year contract.

The last of his 10 caps for France came in November 2019.

The left-back, who won the World Cup in 2018, has been suspended by the Premier League champions pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings. — AFP