How time flies! Eric Bailly was tagged 'the rock' at Manchester United backline when he arrived the club as a new signing back in 2016.
The Ivorien center-back was known for his strength and stability at the back, and was a key player for Jose Mourinho.
Eric Bailly was Jose Mourinho's first signing at Manchester United in 2016
Image Credit: Getty Images
After Jose Mourinho took over the reins at Old Trafford as new manager, the Dutch made Bailly his first signing.
Villarreal bagged £30m from the deal with the Ivorien signing a five-year contract with the club.
Eric Bailly's stint at Manchester United later suffered setbacks as he struggled with niggling injury crisis. He totally fell out of favour at the club and dropped down the pecking order when Jose Mourinho was sacked.
Despite the ill-luck that later swept his promising Old Trafford career, Bailly still retains that big and nostalgic moment that saw him move from Villarreal to Manchester United.
According to him, everything unraveled like a movie as he did not see it coming. More striking was the strange phone call he received from the then Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho asking for his services at Manchester United.
Speaking with the Athletic, Eric Bailly revealed Mourinho rang him while he was in Spain, and was with her mother. He could not twig the voice on the line as he spoke in Portuguese.
After a short conversion, he revealed Mourinho asked him whether he is interested in playing for Manchester United and he could not believe his ears.
He then asked Jose Mourinho to switch to video call so that he can ascertain his identity and the veteran manager did.
After the shocking phone call, the rest was history as he ended up signing for the biggest club in the world without without much ado.
“But I didn’t know anyone in Portugal and I didn’t speak Portuguese. I started to think. There was an old team-mate. I answered the phone,” Bailly explained.
“’It’s Mourinho’, said the voice at the other end. ‘Do you want to play for me at Manchester United?’.
“I felt like I was hallucinating. I thought it was a guy just trying to annoy me, to make a joke. Who believes (Jose) Mourinho is calling them? I said he needed to prove it was him by calling on video. This is what he did. My mother was by my side. It was Mourinho and he said he wanted me to go to Manchester. I did.”
Eric Bailly left Manchester United last summer as his Man United misfortunes showed no sign of abating under Erik ten Hag. He joined Besiktas on a one-year contract.
We reported earlier Besiktas had terminated his contract after six months but the Ivorien has taken up a new challenge with his former club Villarreal after Besiktas' sack. He has signed a one-year contract with the club till 2025.
The Ivorien center-back was known for his strength and stability at the back, and was a key player for Jose Mourinho.
Eric Bailly was Jose Mourinho's first signing at Manchester United in 2016
Image Credit: Getty Images
After Jose Mourinho took over the reins at Old Trafford as new manager, the Dutch made Bailly his first signing.
Villarreal bagged £30m from the deal with the Ivorien signing a five-year contract with the club.
Eric Bailly's stint at Manchester United later suffered setbacks as he struggled with niggling injury crisis. He totally fell out of favour at the club and dropped down the pecking order when Jose Mourinho was sacked.
Despite the ill-luck that later swept his promising Old Trafford career, Bailly still retains that big and nostalgic moment that saw him move from Villarreal to Manchester United.
According to him, everything unraveled like a movie as he did not see it coming. More striking was the strange phone call he received from the then Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho asking for his services at Manchester United.
Speaking with the Athletic, Eric Bailly revealed Mourinho rang him while he was in Spain, and was with her mother. He could not twig the voice on the line as he spoke in Portuguese.
After a short conversion, he revealed Mourinho asked him whether he is interested in playing for Manchester United and he could not believe his ears.
He then asked Jose Mourinho to switch to video call so that he can ascertain his identity and the veteran manager did.
After the shocking phone call, the rest was history as he ended up signing for the biggest club in the world without without much ado.
“But I didn’t know anyone in Portugal and I didn’t speak Portuguese. I started to think. There was an old team-mate. I answered the phone,” Bailly explained.
“’It’s Mourinho’, said the voice at the other end. ‘Do you want to play for me at Manchester United?’.
“I felt like I was hallucinating. I thought it was a guy just trying to annoy me, to make a joke. Who believes (Jose) Mourinho is calling them? I said he needed to prove it was him by calling on video. This is what he did. My mother was by my side. It was Mourinho and he said he wanted me to go to Manchester. I did.”
Eric Bailly left Manchester United last summer as his Man United misfortunes showed no sign of abating under Erik ten Hag. He joined Besiktas on a one-year contract.
We reported earlier Besiktas had terminated his contract after six months but the Ivorien has taken up a new challenge with his former club Villarreal after Besiktas' sack. He has signed a one-year contract with the club till 2025.