Eric Bailly


Eric Bertrand Bailly is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays for English club Manchester United and the Ivory Coast national team. Although he mainly plays as a centre-back, he can also play as a right-back.
Bailly began his professional career at Spain's Espanyol, before transferring to Villarreal. He spent two seasons at the club before signing for Manchester United in June 2016.
He made his international debut for the Ivory Coast in 2015 and helped them win that year's Africa Cup of Nations.

Club career

Espanyol

Born in Bingerville, Bailly joined RCD Espanyol's youth system in December 2011, aged 17. Bailly was spotted by Espanyol's Emilio Montagut after taking part in a youth tournament in Burkina Faso, organised by Spanish company Promoesport. Some records of that time erroneously list his name as Eric Bertrand. He only received a work permit in October of the following year, and made his senior debut in the 2013–14 campaign with the reserves, in Segunda División B.
On 5 October 2014, Bailly made his first-team – and La Liga – debut, coming on as a late substitute in a 2–0 home win against Real Sociedad. He was promoted to the main squad shortly after.

Villarreal

On 29 January 2015, Bailly signed a five-and-a-half-year contract with fellow La Liga team Villarreal for a €5.7 million fee, mainly as a replacement to Arsenal-bound Gabriel Paulista. He made his debut for the Yellow Submarine on 22 February, starting in a 1–0 home win against Eibar.
On 19 March, Bailly made his UEFA Europa League debut, starting and being sent off in a 2–1 away loss against Sevilla.
On 18 October 2015, Bailly was sent off shortly after the interval in a 2–1 loss to Celta de Vigo at Estadio El Madrigal. He made seven appearances as the team reached the last four of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League; on 22 October he scored his first career goal and only one for the team, to conclude a 4–0 home group win over Dinamo Minsk.

Manchester United

On 8 June 2016, Bailly joined Premier League side Manchester United for a reported fee of £30 million, signing a four-year contract, with the option of an additional two. He was the first player signed by their new manager José Mourinho.
He made his competitive debut on 7 August in a 2–1 win against Leicester City at Wembley Stadium to win the FA Community Shield, and was named man of the match. He was again named man of the match on his Premier League debut a week later, a 3–1 win at Bournemouth.
He was voted Manchester United's Player of the Month for August 2016. Talking to MUTV, he said "The Man-of-the-Match awards are something I hadn’t thought about but I got them through the hard work I have put in. I hope to see more of that in the weeks ahead of us." On 23 October 2016, Bailly was substituted off in the 52nd minute after suffering a serious knee injury during the 4–0 loss at Chelsea. He made 11 appearances as the Red Devils won the Europa League, and was named in the Squad of the Season.
On 19 August 2017, Bailly scored the first league goal of his club career, Manchester United's first in a 4–0 away win over Swansea City, following up after Paul Pogba's header came back off the underside of the crossbar.
On 8 November 2017, Bailly suffered an ankle injury where he was sidelined for around 100 days and returned to action on 16 February 2018.
In July 2019, he was ruled out for a further four months after suffering a knee injury in a pre-season friendly against Tottenham Hotspur in China. On 10 January 2020, he made his return from injury by playing in a game with Manchester United's under-23 team against Newcastle United. On 17 January 2020, Bailly signed a two-year contract extension with United, tying him to the club until the end of the 2021–22 season.

International career

On 29 December 2014, Bailly was included in Hervé Renard's 23-man squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. He made his debut on 11 January 2015, in a friendly against Nigeria, and appeared in all six matches during the competition as his side were crowned champions.
Bailly was again named in the Elephants' squad for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon. He played full in all three matches in a campaign which ended in the group stage.
On 12 October 2018, Bailly scored his first international goal in a 4–0 win over the Central African Republic in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Stade Bouaké.
In April 2019 he suffered a knee injury, ruling him out of the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
112 October 2018Stade Bouaké, Bouaké, Ivory Coast2–04–02019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
223 March 2019Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast2–03–02019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Manchester United
Ivory Coast
Individual