Ex-Man Utd flop BANISHED after 'poor performances'
Cameron Smith
- 11 Dec 2023 11:44 CST
- 3 min read
Former Manchester United defender Eric Bailly is one of five players to have been banished by Besiktas “due to poor performance and incompatibility within the team.”
Bailly, 29, joined Besiktas on a free transfer after his Man Utd contract expired in June following a one-year loan spell at Marseille.
The Ivorian spent an injury-hit seven years at Old Trafford following a €38 million move from Villarreal in 2016 and his start to life away from the Red Devils has not gone as planned.
Injuries have once again been Bailly’s downfall and he’s mustered just eight appearances in all competitions for Besiktas this season.
He did feature in their 3-1 defeat against Fenerbahce on Saturday, but Bailly was the subject of a club statement after the loss.
Bailly to leave Besiktas?
The Fenerbahce fixture was his first start since October, however it may prove to be Bailly’s final Besiktas appearance after they released a statement that read: “Information from our club. Five players from our Football A Team have been excluded from the squad.
“Our Football Teams General Coordinator Samet Aybaba; he announced that Vincent Aboubakar, Valentin Rosier, Eric Bailly, Rachid Ghezzal and Jean Onana were excluded from the squad due to poor performance and incompatibility within the team.
“Our work on the new staff structure continues. We respectfully present it to the public.”
Bailly only signed a one-year contract when he joined Besiktas in September, meaning he is able to negotiate with other clubs from January onwards and the Turkish club may even sanction an early exit if terms are agreed with another team.
The Ivory Coast international made 113 appearances during his time at Man Utd, scoring once, and he helped the Red Devils win the League Cup, Europa League and Community Shield under Jose Mourinho in 2017.
However, he suffered 16 separate injuries at Old Trafford and was ultimately moved on after the arrival of Lisandro Martinez from Ajax.
