In a lengthy trial that is anticipated to last 15 weeks, the Premier League player entered a not guilty plea to each charge.

Benjamin Mendy, a football player for Manchester City and France, is on trial in England for rape and sexual assault. On Monday, the court heard testimony that Mendy was a "predator" who ruthlessly pursued weak women. At Chester Crown Court in northwest England, Mendy, 28, is on trial for eight counts of rape, one count of sexual assault, and one count of attempted rape involving seven young women.

Mendy and his co-defendant Louis Saha Matturie, according to prosecutor Timothy Cray, were "predators" who were willing to commit "serious sexual offenses" in order to pursue women.

Cray claimed that Mendy treated women who were "vulnerable, scared, and isolated" with "callous indifference."

According to him, Matturie's responsibility was "to find young women and to set up circumstances in which those young women could be raped and sexually assaulted."

The men “turned the pursuit of women for sex into a game, and if women got hurt or distressed, too bad,” the lawyer said.

The alleged offences are said to have taken place between July 2012 and August last year.

Matturie, 40, has also pleaded not guilty to eight counts of rape and four counts of sexual assault.

Under English law, none of the women said to have been assaulted can be named under English law, which also places restrictions on what can be reported about the case.

Mendy joined Premier League champions City from French side Monaco in 2017. He has played 75 times for Manchester City, but his playing time was limited by injuries and a loss of form.

He was suspended by the city after being charged by police in August last year.

The last of Mendy’s 10 international caps came in November 2019. The defender picked up a World Cup winner’s medal after playing just 40 minutes of France’s successful 2018 campaign in Russia.

The trial comes as former Manchester United star player and Wales manager Ryan Giggs is on trial at Manchester Crown Court on charges of assaulting his former partner by headbutting her and submitting her to controlling and coercive behaviour.