Mendy's friend says he was 'shocked' to be accused of rape

A friend of Manchester City player Benjamin Mendy has denied raping two women at an after-party at the footballer's house.

Louis Saha Matturie, 41, told police he did not sexually assault the women and was "shocked" to be accused of rape, telling officers: "I never wake up in the morning or the evening saying, 'I'm going to rape someone'. That is not me. I don't want to hurt nobody."

Matturie is a friend of and alleged 'fixer' for Premier League footballer Mendy, 28, with both men denying a series of alleged sexual assaults and rapes on young women.

Both are alleged to have raped a 17-year-old, while Matturie is also accused of raping a 23-year-old woman at the footballer's mansion in Mottram St Andrew, Cheshire, after clubbing in Manchester last August 23.

Jurors at Chester Crown Court heard the allegations put to Matturie in a number of police interviews.

He told detectives girls wanted to come to parties at Mendy's house "because they know it's going to be fun".

An officer asked Matturie: "Do you think if it wasn't for your status that these girls would be interested in you, or even the footballers?"

Matturie replied: "Er, it's because genuinely I'm a nice person."

He is alleged to have raped the 23-year-old in Mendy's Mercedes car after they left the after-party to buy more alcohol from a local garage.

Matturie told police the sex was consensual but, back at the house, the woman started paying attention to other partygoers, including Mendy and his Manchester City teammate Jack Grealish.

He told police: "This will come to justice. Probably she just want to target me. Because she sleep with Jack, she sleep with Ben, she sleep with Harris."

A second woman, 17 at the time, claims she was raped twice at the party by Mendy, in his office and trophy room, and raped twice more by Matturie afterwards, once in the cinema room and later at a Manchester flat.

Again, Matturie said the sex was consensual.

Prosecutors say Mendy is a "predator" who "turned the pursuit of women for sex into a game", while Matturie allegedly had the job of finding young women for sex, which he denies.

Mendy denies seven counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and one count of sexual assault against six young women.

Matturie, of Eccles, Salford, denies six counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault relating to seven young women.

Both men say if any sex did take place with women or girls it was consensual.

The trial was adjourned until Tuesday morning.