Earlier this month, the French defender Benjamin Mendy broke down in tears after the Cheshire crown court found him not guilty of six charges of rape and one count of sexual assault. Mendy had played his last game for Manchester City in 2021 before being sent on unpaid leave by the club. His contract with City expired in June and he had been unemployed since then. Five days after his acquittal, the new Ligue 1 club Lorient signed him on a multi-year deal. We look at famous football stars who were in the news, for all the wrong reasons.

Neymar

In 2019, Neymar was accused of raping a Brazilian model Najila Trindade in a Paris hotel room. Trindade accused Neymar of inviting her to the French capital after exchanging salacious texts on Whatsapp and then assaulting her for refusing to accept his sexual advances. The charges, however, were dropped because of a lack of evidence. Neymar then filed a defamation case against Trindade and her husband. 

Kevin de Bruyne & Thibaut Courtois

Belgians Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois, both renowned stars in their respective positions, have a strained relationship despite their representation of the same national team. The underlying cause of their animosity stems from an incident in 2014 when Courtois allegedly became involved with De Bruyne’s girlfriend. While she admitted to a brief connection with Courtois, she maintained that it occurred subsequent to De Bruyne’s infidelity. 

Cristiano Ronaldo

In a U.S. court, a Nevada woman’s attempt to extract millions of dollars beyond the $375,000 hush money she received after alleging rape against international soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo in Las Vegas in 2009 was unsuccessful. A federal civil case accusing Portuguese soccer player Ronaldo of raping a woman in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009 was dismissed last year. Ronaldo’s legal team acknowledges that he interacted with the woman and engaged in sexual activity in June 2009, but they assert it was consensual and not rape. 

Mauro Icardi & Wanda Nara

The dispute between Mauro Icardi and Wanda Nara originates from their previous romantic connections. Wanda Nara was previously wedded to Maxi López, a former colleague and friend of Icardi. Sources indicate that Icardi and Nara initiated their relationship while Nara was still married to López, resulting in a bitter falling out between the two once-close friends and teammates. 

Karim Benzema & Frank Ribery

Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema were acquitted of allegations, of soliciting an underage prostitute, after the court couldn’t verify whether Benzema had any relationship with the girl. Ribery was exonerated after the prosecutors failed to disprove that Ribery was not aware of her age.