On Tuesday, former Manchester United center back Eric Bailly signed a contract to join Besiktas permanently.
After concluding his permanent departure from the team earlier this week, Eric Bailly reminded the Manchester United supporters that their team is the “real champion.”
After being considered unnecessary by Erik ten Hag, the Ivorian defender was signed by Besiktas on Tuesday. In addition to leaving Bailly off of their preseason tour roster, United decided not to assign him a shirt number.
MEN Sport has learned that the Reds permitted Bailly to leave on a free transfer despite the fact that his contract had one year left to run in order to free up his salaries. On Wednesday night, the 29-year-old sent a thank-you to the followers on X.
As I leave this club after many years filled with amazing memories, fantastic teammates, and championships, I want to offer my sincere gratitude, he wrote. Even though this chapter is coming to a close, the friendships and memories will live on in my heart forever.
“The real champions here are the fans.” In 2016, United paid £30 million for Bailly in an effort to improve their defensive options.Bailly would go on to play with the Reds for seven years, appearing in 113 games. However, as a regular starter at Old Trafford, the center-back rarely looked like breaking through.
Bailly joined Marseille on loan during the previous campaign, with the French powerhouses including an option to buy the defender in the summer. But Marseille decided not to exercise this clause after the player made 23 appearances for the team across all competitions.
Following the summer transfer window, United is down to its last five first-team center backs: Jonny Evans, Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, and Lisandro Martinez.
