MAN City star Benjamin Mendy will spend Christmas behind bars at a tough jail after being accused of a string of rape charges.

The left-back, 27, has been remanded in custody at HMP Altcourse since his first court appearance in August.

He is accused of seven counts of rape and one of sexual assault against five women aged over 16.

The nature of his charges mean Mendy will spend the festive season mingling with inmates at the Merseyside jail.

It is a world away from the £52million star's last Christmas, where he hosted a glitzy New Year bash at his £5million Cheshire mansion.

Instead, Mendy will tuck into a turkey roast at the Category B lock-up.

Last year, lags recorded messages for their families in front of a green screen surrounded by present boxes.

The prison tweeted a snap of the superimposed background, which included a fireplace and Christmas tree.

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Each "emotional and difficult" message also featured a "surprise individual message from Santa".

They also made "bespoke books and DVDs" as an extra gift for families of inmates.

The jail tweeted: "An extra little present for the families from our men.

"The children can follow their own little story read out from their dad/grandad/brother etc."

Mendy will stay in prison until his provisional trial date on either June 27 or August 1 next year after three of his bail pleas were rejected.

He was charged with a seventh rape count yesterday.

The fresh offence relates to a new complainant and is alleged to have taken place in July this year.

Mendy was already facing six rape counts against four women when the new charge was added.

RAPE CLAIMS

One of these was carried out on August 23 – just three days before he was charged, it is said.

It is the second rape Mendy allegedly committed while on police bail after his arrest in November 2020.

Mendy is also accused of raping a woman three times at Cheshire mansion in October last year. 

The footballer allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in early January 2021.

It emerged last month inmates at HMP Altcourse get assaulted by each other almost every day of the month.

The Sun revealed how the tough nick is ruled by a "tangled web of gangs" where lags use weapons such as razor blades hidden in toothbrushes to attack.

There were 338 assaults at the prison between July 2020 and June 2021, according to an annual report by the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB).

Premier League champions Man City spent a reported £49.2million signing Mendy from French side Monaco in 2017.

He last played for the club on August 15 during their 1-0 defeat to Tottenham at the start of the season.

In September last year City boss Pep Guardiola revealed Mendy would be out of the game for at least a month due to an injury.

In a statement, the club said: “Manchester City can confirm that following his being charged by police today, Benjamin Mendy has been suspended pending an investigation.

“The matter is subject to a legal process and the club is therefore unable to make further comment until that process is complete.”

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