Ex-Man United defender opens up on phone call with Jose Mourinho that got him to Old Trafford

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Former Manchester United defender Eric Bailly has opened up about the call he received to move to Old Trafford back in 2016.

Eric Bailly joined Manchester United in the summer of 2016 under then-manager Jose Mourinho as the Ivorian centre-back was chosen to be the long-term defensive stalwart at Old Trafford.

However, in reality, Bailly struggled hugely with multiple injury problems during his six-year stint at the club and it was rather surprising, truth be told, that the former Villarreal defender remained at Old Trafford for as long as he did.

Bailly eventually left the club and joined French side Marseille before another move to Besiktas, but the Ivorian has now seen his contract terminated at the Turkish club.

Bailly on Mourinho phone call

Speaking to Andy Mitten of The Athletic, the 29-year-old revealed his initial reaction to the phone call he received back in 2016 when United wanted to sign him.

“It was a Portuguese number,” Bailly revealed. “But I didn’t know anyone in Portugal and I didn’t speak Portuguese. I started to think. There was an old team-mate. I answered the phone.

“Who is it? “, Bailly asked. “’ It’s Mourinho’, said the voice at the other end. ‘Do you want to play for me at Manchester United?’.

“I felt like I was hallucinating. I thought it was a guy just trying to annoy me, to make a joke. Who believes (Jose) Mourinho is calling them? I said he needed to prove it was him by calling on video. This is what he did. My mother was by my side. It was Mourinho and he said he wanted me to go to Manchester. I did.”

The fee paid for the defender, which was around £30 million, seemed a risk but Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City were sniffing around him according to The Athletic but sadly it did not work out the way the 29-year-old would have hoped.

Bailly’s struggles

Injuries were a big problem for the defender but also Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s preference for Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof as his first-choice defensive pairing meant the Ivorian struggled for game time.

It was right for the 29-year-old to leave the club when he did as his injury problems as well as his perception that the English players were favoured, meant it wasn’t a good fit.

He was a brilliant defender, but erratic at times, and Bailly leaving Old Trafford was good for the club as well as his career. He has now rejoined Spanish side Villarreal on a two-year deal.