Bailly: ‘Manchester United unduly favour English players’

Manchester United Defender Eric Bailly has accused his club of unduly favouring English players.

Baily insisted that Manchester United has a selection policy that he believes prioritised England internationals – irrespective of their abilities.

He made this startling revelation after securing a loan move to top French side Olympique Marseille.

“The club [Manchester United] should avoid favoring English players and give everyone a chance. The club should encourage competition in the dressing room. I always had the impression that the English player was favoured,” he said.

“That’s not the case at Chelsea or other big Premier League clubs. Some take it for granted that they’re going to start, and that weakens the team. Fortunately, [Erik] ten Hag has a lot of character and I hope he can change that.”

Many fans believe he was making reference to club captain Harry Maguire.

Maguire has been criticised in recent months of being the primary cause of United’s previous poor run of form.

He struggled with an even poorer start to the new season, forcing new manager Erik ten Hag to bench him.

Since then, United have won four straight matches.

Beginning

Bailly signed a new contract at Old Trafford in April 2021, but less than a month later was publicly demanding to play more games or he would look to leave.

The Ivorien  featured under Erik ten Hag in pre-season this summer, but with Lisandro Martinez arriving from Ajax for £56million and Maguire, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof also at the club, he felt he had to leave to play more regularly.

“I met Erik Ten Hag in the dressing room at the end of last season when he went to sign his contract,” Bailly said.

“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 will play for Marseille against Tottenham Hotspurs in a UEFA Champions League encounter on Tuesday.