MANCHESTER City footballer Benjamin Mendy will stay on remand in jail ahead of his rape trial next year after being accused of sex attacks on three women.
Mendy, 27, who has been in custody for around seven weeks, was denied bail by a judge at a 50-minute hearing at Chester Crown Court.
The £52million France international, who was not in court, is being held on remand at HMP Altcourse, Liverpool.
It was the third bail application Mendy had made.
The press were excluded from the hearing before Judge Patrick Thompson, but the result of the bail application was passed on after the hearing by a court official.
Mendy was charged on August 26, with three counts of rape relating to an alleged incident in October 2020 and with the sexual assault of a woman in early January this year. He is also charged with raping a woman in August
Mendy, who joined City in 2017 from Monaco, earns about £100,000 a week.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – MAY 23: Fernandinho of Manchester City lifts the Premier League Trophy with team mates Benjamin Mendy, Riyad Mahrez, Ederson and Sergio Aguero as Manchester City are presented with the Trophy as they win the league following the Premier League match between Manchester City and Everton at Etihad Stadium on May 23, 2021 in Manchester, England. A limited number of fans will be allowed into Premier League stadiums as Coronavirus restrictions begin to ease in the UK. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Since joining the Blues, he has won the Premier League three times, two League Cups and the Community Shield, despite making just 50 appearances for the club.
A trial date has been set for January 24, 2021.
Mendy was suspended by City after being charged by police, pending a club investigation.