Following his acquittal in a sex crimes trial in England last week, Benjamin Mendy, a former Manchester City and France defender, signed for French club Lorient on Wednesday.
“Lorient are happy to announce today the signing on a two-year deal of the French international left-back Benjamin Mendy,” the Ligue 1 club said in a statement.
After a three-year legal process, Mendy, 29, was found not guilty of any sexual offences last week.
After a six-month trial, the athlete, who would have risked a significant jail sentence if found guilty, was exonerated in January of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.
However, two other counts in that trial were left unresolved by the jury, leading to the retrial that was concluded last week.
Mendy, whose contract with Manchester City, the reigning English and European champions, expires at the end of June, had refuted all of the accusations.
Mendy will begin training on Wednesday after receiving a medical clearance, according to Lorient, who finished 10th in Ligue 1 last season, behind champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Nearly two years have passed since his last game for Manchester City before his arrival at the club.
The 2018 World Cup champion sobbed last Friday at Chester Crown Court in northwest England when the not guilty verdicts on one count of rape and one count of sexual assault were announced.
Mendy played 75 games for Manchester City after making a record-breaking deal for a defender in 2017 when he transferred from French club Monaco.
But injuries and a decline in form limited the amount of time he could play. After winning the World Cup with his country’s team in Russia in 2018, the defender received his final of 10 caps for France in November of that same year.
He missed Manchester City’s treble of the English Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League last season due to the trials.