Eric Bailly makes shocking claim, tells Man United to stop favouring English players

Former Manchester United defender Eric Bailly has ended his 7-year romance with the Red Devils. (Photo Credit: Imago)

PREMIER LEAGUE Eric Bailly makes shocking claim, tells Man United to stop favouring English players

Izuchukwu Akawor 15:00 - 06.09.2022

The no-nonsense centre-back has accused the Premier League giant of favouring English players.

Ivorian International Eric Bailly has accused parent club Manchester United of favouring English players.

Bailly joined Ligue 1 side Marseille on a season-long loan that will see him stay in France until the summer of 2023.

Manchester United centre-back Eric Bailly (R) concedes an own-goal against Manchester City at Old Trafford.

However,  the defender has made a shocking claim that United favours English-born players at the club.

The 28-year-old has struggled for game time under three managers, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick and Erik Ten Hag, who has now sanctioned a loan move for the African star.

Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick looks on during the match at Norwich

Bailly makes shocking accusation

Ahead of his return to England on Champions League duty with new club, Marseille, the centre-back didn't hold back on his time in Manchester.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ng/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

“The club should avoid favouring English players and give everyone a chance," Bailly said per Manchester Evening News via The Times. 

"[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."

“That doesn’t happen at Chelsea or other big Premier League clubs. Some people take it for granted that they are going to start, and that weakens the team. Luckily [Erik] Ten Hag has a lot of character and I hope he can change that dynamic.”

On why he left despite assurances from Ten Hag

The Ivorian added that he spoke to the new manager, Ten Hag, who assured him of game time but he didn't want a bit-part role at the club.

Erik ten Hag

“I met Erik Ten Hag in the dressing room at the end of last season when he went to sign his contract,” Bailly added. “I was packing my things because my intention was to leave, but he told me he wanted me to stay because he was going to give minutes to everyone."

"I agreed to do the summer tour with United, and he kept his word, but I don’t want to play every now and then. I want to do it every week and feel important. I want to get my confidence back.”

Tags: