Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has been released on bail as he awaits trial for multiple charges of rape and sexual assault.
The 27-year-old Frenchman, who faces seven charges of rape and one of sexual assault, was granted bail by Judge Patrick Thompson at a hearing at Chester Crown Court on Friday.
Mendy will stand trial for the rape and sexual assault charges later this year. His trial was initially scheduled for January 2022, but has been put back.
Mendy was initially charged on August 26, 2021, on multiple sexual offence charges relating to five women.
The charges brought against Mendy relate to incidents that are alleged to have taken place between October 2020 and August 2021.
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He was denied bail for a second time at the start of October 2021, but has now been granted bail at a hearing on Friday which was closed to the press.
Mendy was suspended by Premier League champions Man City following the initial charges.
He moved to England from Monaco in 2017 and has made 75 appearances for City, with one of those coming in the 2021-22 campaign.