Manchester United defender terminates contract at Old Trafford, joins new club: Reports
Eric Bailly has reportedly joined Besiktas on a one-year deal after his contract was terminated at Manchester United.
According to Fabrizio Romano (h/t UnitedInFocus), Bailly has moved to Besiktas on a permanent one-year transfer and will become a free agent in 2024. The Red Devils were content with just offloading his wages, considering he was allowed to leave on a free transfer despite having a year left on his contract.
Bailly apparently earned around £80,000 a week at Old Trafford. Just before the official conclusion of the deal, Turkish outlet A Spor (h/t @mufcMPB on X) reported that Manchester United and Bailly were in discussions to terminate the player's contract.
It seems the discussions were fruitful and Manchester United offloaded a player who hadn't played in a Premier League game since December 2021. He signed for Manchester United in 2016 for a fee of £30 million after making a strong impression during his time at Villarreal.
In the seven years that followed, the 29-year-old Ivory Coast international managed to feature in 113 games across competitions for the club. He started more than 11 league games in a season just once for Manchester United, which was during his debut campaign in England.
Bailly joins Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Milot Rashica, Arthur Masuaku, and Daniel Amartey on the list of players the Kara Kartallar have signed from England this summer. Clubs in Turkey have until 15 September to make new signings.
Eric Bailly accused Manchester United of favoring English players
In an interview given in September 2022, Eric Bailly said Manchester United favored players of English nationality over foreigners.
Erik ten Hag had just taken over the reins at Old Trafford, so the Ivorian's comments would have been directed to managers who were there before him. He told the Times, via SportBible:
"The club should avoid favouring English players and give everyone a chance. [The club should] encourage competition in the dressing room, not just look out for some. I’ve always had the feeling that the national player was prioritised...
"...Some people take it for granted that they are going to start, and that weakens the team. Luckily [Erik] Ten Hag has a lot of character and I hope he can change that dynamic."
Harry Maguire was notably kept as a captain and a regular starter at centre-back under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick despite his dwindling form. But Ten Hag replaced him in the starting XI with Lisandro Martinez last year and stripped him of his captaincy this summer.
Moreover, the Dutchman signed Tyrell Malacia to compete with Luke Shaw, and Diogo Dalot has been given a fair run of games to displace Aaron Wan-Bissaka from the starting XI.