Marseille defender Eric Bailly recently issued an interesting statement. He openly satirized Harry Maguire who he considered to be the 'golden boy' in the Manchester United squad.
As is well known, Bailly left United this summer. He moved to Marseille on loan with a permanent purchase option.
Bailly's move to Marseille was due to his lack of playing time. He struggled to displace the duo Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof in the MU defense.
Bailly said that he could not displace the two players, especially Harry Maguire. But he considered the defender to get special treatment.
Check out Bailly's full statement below.
England Players
According to Bailly, he was forced to leave Manchester United because he was not given the opportunity to prove his worth. He considered Harry Maguire getting special treatment, where he continued to play despite his poor performance.
"The club should not give privileges to English players. The club should give equal opportunities to all players,"
"The club should be able to present a healthy competition in the dressing room. But what I feel is that the club has always prioritized English players,"
Thankful It's Done
Bailly said he was grateful to see that Manchester United's condition had now changed. He thinks that Erik Ten Hag now dares to back up Harry Maguire and other players whose performance is not good.
"We can see at Chelsea or other big Premier League teams. English players are not given the privilege to always play,"
"Sometimes these English players underestimate their performance because they think they will continue to be starters, and this is what makes the team weak. For only Ten Hag has a strong character and I hope he can change that," he said.
Dare to Backup
Erik Ten Hag himself is really firm at MU. Harry Maguire is no longer the first choice at Manchester United.
The defender has been sitting pretty on the bench for the last 4 matches, as Ten Hag prefers Varane and Martinez as his central defender partner.