Derby County winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing arrested over assault & phone theft in Magaluf nightclub

The former England Under-16 player reportedly appeared in court on Sunday after the early-hours incident. According to Majorcan newspaper Ultima Hora, the 32-year-old Birmingham-born and currently playing for the Guatemala national team, allegedly punched the woman in the face before taking her phone.

Mendez-Laing's wife, accused of pulling the woman's hair, was also arrested. The police tracked the phone using its geolocation feature provided by the "assault victim" and went to the couple's holiday accommodation. The couple were released pending an ongoing criminal investigation after posting €300 bail, according to the paper.

The woman involved in the incident, described locally as a Brit, reportedly annoyed the footballer and his wife by taking pictures and videos of them without consent inside the nightclub. There has been no official comment from the Civil Guard.

The Sun reported that it is still unclear if Mendez-Laing, who served a three-month ban after testing positive for cocaine in July 2020 while at Cardiff City, is still in Majorca.

Mendez-Laing played a key role in Cardiff's promotion to the Premier League in his first season with the club but had his contract terminated in September 2020 for breach of contract after admitting to taking cocaine the night before a match against Bristol City.

He had previously served a ban for cocaine use in 2019. Following his departure from Cardiff, he played for Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday. He signed with Derby County in July 2022 and contributed to their promotion to the EFL Championship in his second season with the team.

Although Mendez-Laing represented England at under-16 and under-17 levels, he began playing for Guatemala internationally last year, as both his mother and maternal grandmother were born in the Central American country. The footballer has not yet commented on the Magaluf incident.

Derby County FC has yet to release any statement.