Bailly reveals he snubbed City to join Man Utd

Manchester United’s Ivory Coast international, Eric Bailly, has revealed that he joined the club in 2016, after snubbing interest from City, with a phone call from then manager, Jose Mourinho, convincing him to sign for the Red Devils.

Bailly was also the subject of interest from Barcelona, however, the 26-year-old centre-half chose Old Trafford and explained the move to Mundo Deportivo, saying, “In the summer of 2016 there were many rumours.”

“I was in Ivory Coast, in the dining room at home with my mother when the phone rang. It was a Portuguese number; Mourinho. He told me to come with him, that he liked me since he saw me with Espanyol and Villarreal.

Embed from Getty Images

“Manchester City were also interested, but if Mourinho calls you, you can’t say no.

“You can’t say no to Barca either. It just didn’t happen because the interest was not public or so explicit.”

Eric Bailly has had several horrible injuries whilst at the club, restricting him to making just 89 appearances in four-and-a-half years.

Bailly also mentioned United’s defensive problems but revealed that he believes that Solskjaer can help improve United’s defensive vulnerabilities.

Embed from Getty Images

Bailly added: “We have known how to overcome adversity because the dressing room is with Solskjaer.

“He is a close guy who has a good relationship with everyone and understands the codes of the football player.

“At the back, he [Solskjaer] asks for concentration and more character. There are small mistakes that have been avoided.

“We need to pay more attention to plays that seem of little danger and that end up costing us too much.”

Bailly is currently recovering from a muscle injury.