Man United defender Eric Bailly joins Marseille on loan

Ivorian central defender Eric Bailly has left Manchester United to join French giants Marseille on a season-long loan with an option to make it permanent.

Marseille have an obligation to buy the 28-year-old €6million if they qualify for the Champions League and he plays a certain number of games. Marseille will also cover the entirety of the defender's wages.

Bailly joined Manchester United from Villarreal in 2016 for a fee in the region of £30million but has seen his United career plagued by a string of injuries during his United career.

In his first season in Manchester he won both the League Cup and the Europa League with Jose Mourinho as manager. His campaign was hampered after suffering a serious knee injury.

Despite making only four top flight appearances last season, Bailly signed a new contract at United last summer that runs until June 2024, with the option of a further year.

During pre-season Bailly featured regularly as Erik ten Hag assessed his squad but seems to have fallen further behind in the pecking order due to the signing of Argentine Lisandro Martinez.

Led by head coach Igor Tudor, Marseille are currently third in Ligue 1 earning seven points from their opening three games.

They have also been linked with another Manchester United player in Cristiano Ronaldo in recent days. They qualified for the Champions League this year by finishing second behind Paris Saint-Germain last season.

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