Man Utd: Eric Bailly accuses parent club of favouring English players

Eric Bailly has called out Manchester United for previously favouring English players in a rather damning rant.

The Ivorian defender left Old Trafford in the summer to join Marseille on loan and he’ll return to England on Wednesday night with the Ligue 1 outfit.

Marseille play Tottenham Hotspur in their first Champions League group stage match of the 2022/23 campaign and Bailly has spoken very openly about United ahead of the fixture.

The former Villarreal man believes he wasn’t given the opportunities he deserved at Old Trafford, boldly stating that the team was negatively impacted by players who took it for granted that they would start.

“The club should avoid favouring English players and give everyone a chance,” Bailly said, per The Times. “[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.

“That doesn’t happen at Chelsea or other big Premier League clubs. 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.”

Ouch. Bailly sounds as if he’s referring to players like club captain Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, who’ve endured an incredibly tough time at United ever since Euro 2020.

Maguire and Shaw were still regular starters last season, but Erik ten Hag made the bold decision to drop both of them from the starting XI after the 4-0 thrashing at Brentford.

Bailly actually spoke positively about the new United boss, although his arrival from Ajax still wasn’t enough to keep the player at the club.

“I met Erik Ten Hag in the dressing room at the end of last season when he went to sign his