Pranav Kannan
Eric Bailly hits out at Manchester United for favouring English players
Speaking in an interview as quoted by The Times (Subscription Required), former Manchester United centre-back Eric Bailly has hit out at the English club for showing a tendency to favour English players and not giving him a fair chance to succeed at Old Trafford.
Eric Bailly joined Manchester United from Villarreal in 2016 and has since then had an injury-ridden time at Old Trafford. He eventually left the club this summer after securing a loan move to French club Olympique Marseille.
It is safe to say that the 28-year-old did not have the best of times at Old Trafford. He was never able to establish himself as a mainstay in the lineup and constant injuries meant that the Ivory Coast defender spent more time on the treatment table than the pitch.
Bailly has been a fourth-choice defender at Red Devils for quite some time now. Although he has shown glimpses of his true abilities on rare occasions, it has not been consistent and have been few and far in all these years.
This season, Manchester United signed talented Argentinian centre-back Lisandro Martinez which pushed Bailly further down the pecking order. There was absolutely no chance that he would get any game time.
Speaking about his exit from the club, Bailly did not mince his words and hit out at the English club for showing bias towards a particular nationality.
“The club should avoid favouring English players and give everyone a chance. “[The club should] encourage competition in the dressing room, not just look out for some. I’ve always had the feeling that the national player was prioritised.”
Eric Bailly might have his angst against the club and feel hard done by the club’s decision to ship him on but his comments don’t paint a good picture on the club and it does not seem like what Bailly claims is the case.
Manchester United have made quite a few signings this summer and in Lisandro Martinez, Antony, Christian Eriksen, Casemiro and Tyrell Malacia, the Red Devils have signed players from different nationalities.
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Bailly’s time at Man United seems to have come to an end. It could have been something much better but injuries prevented it from being anything meaningful.
