A French player, Benjamin Mendy, will return to a UK courtroom on Monday to begin his retrial for two alleged sexual offences, five months after a jury absolved him of many other counts.
Mendy, a Manchester City midfielder, will return to Chester Crown Court in northwest England to face one count of rape and one of attempted rape.
Jurors in his first trial, which concluded in January, could not decide on two allegations involving two other women.
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Following a six-month trial, the jury of seven men and four women acquitted the defender of six further counts of rape and one of sexual assault against four women.
In January, the judge set a fresh trial date of Monday for the two counts on which the jury did not reach a verdict.
Mendy, whose contract with Manchester City expires at the end of this month and is not expected to be renewed, has disputed all allegations against him.
Mendy covered his face with both hands and softly rocked back and forth in court as the not-guilty verdicts were given.
One of his lawyers, Jenny Wiltshire, stated that the footballer was "delighted" with the trial's outcome.
Mendy was charged alongside Louis Saha Matturie, 41, an alleged "fixer" who was found not guilty of three counts of rape involving two juveniles by a jury.
In addition, jurors could not decide on three allegations of rape and three counts of sexual assault levelled against Matturie by five additional women.
According to the prosecution, Mendy was a sexual "predator" who raped or sexually attacked young women obtained by Matturie at parties at his opulent residence south of Manchester.
Mendy denied ever forcing a woman to have sex, and both claimed that any sexual activity they had with women was consensual.
He has not played since August 15, 2021, just days before he was charged with four counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.
