Bailly blasts United over English bias
Eric Bailly has accused Manchester United of a selection policy biased towards English players during his time at Old Trafford. Bailly has taken a swipe, clearly with Harry Maguire among those he thinks were indulged, after joining Marseille on loan for the season and backed Erik ten Hag to solve the problem. ‘The club should avoid favouring English players and give everyone a chance,’ said the ivory coast centre half, who joined United for £30million from Villarreal in 2016. ‘Encourage competition in the dressing room, not just look out for some. i 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, Ten Hag
has a lot of character and i hope he can change that dynamic.’
Bailly was beset by injury problems during his six years at United and slipped out of favour once Maguire was signed in 2019, for £80million from leicester. Marcus rashford, aaron Wan-Bissaka and luke Shaw were among other English players to feature regularly during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s three years in charge. across the last three seasons, however, Bailly has made only 20 Premier league appearances. He has two years remaining on his United contract but left for Marseille despite encouragement from Ten Hag.
‘i met Erik ten Hag in the dressing room at the end of last season,’ Bailly told the Times. ‘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.’
Bailly is one of a dozen former Premier league players in the ranks of Marseille, runners-up in France last season, who have won five and drawn one of their six games in this campaign under new boss igor Tudor. alexis Sanchez is banned and cannot play at Tottenham tonight after a red card playing for inter Milan at liverpool last season, but former West Ham hero-turned-villain Dimitri Payet is back from injury.
‘it was a personal choice, a family choice,’ said 35-year-old Payet last night, when asked about his acrimonious split with the Hammers in 2017. ‘i have stayed at Marseille so it’s not like i have moved around. ‘The Premier league helped me to realise a dream. Everyone dreams about playing here. i spent 18 months full of emotions but i have no regrets. ‘it was a pretty brutal break, that’s
true, but i hope over the years West Ham fans come to understand.’