Eric Bailly

Eric Bailly
Bailly warming up for Manchester United in 2017
Personal information
Full name Eric Bertrand Bailly[1]
Date of birth (1994-04-12) 12 April 1994
Place of birth Bingerville, Ivory Coast
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Playing position Centre-back
Club information
Current team
 Manchester United
Number 3
Youth career
2011–2013 Espanyol
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Espanyol B 21 (0)
2014–2015 Espanyol 5 (0)
2015–2016 Villarreal 35 (0)
2016– Manchester United 43 (1)
National team‡
2015– Ivory Coast 32 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:38, 6 October 2018 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 October 2018

Eric Bertrand Bailly (French pronunciation: ​[eʁik bɛʁ.tʁɑ̃ baji]; born 12 April 1994) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays for English club Manchester United and the Ivory Coast national team. Mainly a central defender, he can also play as a right-back.[3]

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.[4] Bailly was spotted by Espanyol’s Emilio Montagut after taking part in a youth tournament in Burkina Faso, organised by Spanish company Promoesport.[5] Some records of that time erroneously list his name as Eric Bertrand (his middle name misinterpreted as his paternal surname). He only received a work permit in October of the following year,[6] 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.[7] He was promoted to the main squad shortly after.[8]

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.[9][10] He made his debut for the Yellow Submarine on 22 February, starting in a 1–0 home win against Eibar.[11]

On 19 March, Bailly made his UEFA Europa League debut, starting and being sent off in a 2–1 away loss against Sevilla.[12]

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.[13] 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.[14]

Manchester United

Bailly playing against West Ham United in August 2017

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.[15][16][17]

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.[18] He was again named man of the match on his Premier League debut a week later, a 3–1 win at Bournemouth.[19]

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."[20] 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.[21] He made 11 appearances as the Red Devils won the Europa League, and was named in the Squad of the Season.[22]

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.[23]

International career

Bailly playing for the Ivory Coast in 2015

On 29 December 2014, Bailly was included in Hervé Renard's 23-man squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.[24] He made his debut on 11 January 2015, in a friendly against Nigeria,[25] 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.[26] He played full in all three matches in a campaign which ended in the group stage.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 6 October 2018[27]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Espanyol B 2013–14 Segunda División B 200————200
2014–15 Segunda División B 10————10
Total 210————210
Espanyol 2014–15 La Liga 5000———50
Villarreal 2014–15 La Liga 10000—10—110
2015–16 La Liga 25030—71—351
Total 35030—81—461
Manchester United 2016–17 Premier League 250001011010380
2017–18 Premier League 13120003000181
2018–19 Premier League 50001010—70
Total 431202015010631
Career total 10415020231101352

International

As of match played 12 October 2018[28]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Ivory Coast 2015120
201650
2017110
201841
Total321

Honours

Manchester United

Ivory Coast

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Squads for 2016/17 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "Eric Bailly". Premier League. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  3. ↑ "Jose Mourinho: Why I signed Eric Bailly". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  4. ↑ Dos nous fitxatges per al futbol base (Two new signings for the youth setup); Espanyol's official website, 1 December 2011 (in Catalan)
  5. ↑ Wilkes, Paul (8 June 2016). "Eric Bailly: The Villarreal rock who Jose's made his first signing". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  6. ↑ Eric Bertrand ya tiene los papeles y puede debutar (Eric Bertrand already has the paperwork and can debut); Diario La Grada, 6 October 2012 (in Spanish)
  7. ↑ El Espanyol pone a Arrasate contra las cuerdas (Espanyol puts Arraste against the wall); Marca, 5 October 2014 (in Spanish)
  8. ↑ Eric, la perla de 20 millones (Eric, the pearl of 20 million); Sport, 13 December 2014 (in Spanish)
  9. ↑ El Villarreal CF ficha a Eric Bailly (Villarreal signs Eric Bailly) Archived 31 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine.; Villarreal's official website, 29 January 2015 (in Spanish)
  10. ↑ El Espanyol traspasa a Eric Bailly al Villarreal por 5,7 millones de euros (Espanyol transfers Eric Bailly to Villarreal for 5.7 million euros); El Mundo Deportivo, 29 January 2015 (in Spanish)
  11. ↑ Vietto, con licencia para marcar (Vietto, with a scoring license); Marca, 22 February 2015 (in Spanish)
  12. ↑ Slick Sevilla finish off ten-man Villarreal; UEFA.com, 19 March 2015
  13. ↑ "Last-gasp Nolito winner helps Eduardo Berizzo's side join Real Madrid and Barcelona at top of La Liga". Daily Mail. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  14. ↑ "Bakambu at double as Villarreal beat Dinamo". UEFA. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  15. ↑ Rej, Arindam (8 June 2016). "Manchester United sign Eric Bailly from Villarreal on four-year contract". ESPN FC. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  16. ↑ "Eric Bailly has passed a medical at Manchester United". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  17. ↑ "Manchester United sign Eric Bailly". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  18. ↑ Froggatt, Mark (8 August 2016). "Video: Analysis of Bailly's United debut". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  19. ↑ Gholam, Simeon (14 August 2016). "Bournemouth 1–3 Manchester United: Zlatan Ibrahimovic nets on debut in victory". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  20. ↑ "BAILLY IS UNITED'S PLAYER OF THE MONTH". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  21. ↑ "Eric Bailly: Manchester United defender suffers 'bad knee injury'". BBC Sports. 23 October 2016.
  22. 1 2 "UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season". UEFA. 25 May 2017.
  23. ↑ Pritchard, Dafydd (19 August 2017). "Swansea City 0–4 Manchester United". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  24. ↑ 2015 Nations Cup: Kolo Toure in squad for last time; BBC Sport, 29 December 2014
  25. ↑ Kalou Hands Cote D'Ivoire Late Win Over Nigeria; SL10, 11 January 2015
  26. ↑ "Afcon 2017: Wilfried Zaha in Ivory Coast's final squad". BBC Sport. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  27. ↑ Eric Bailly at Soccerway. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  28. ↑ "Eric Bailly". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  29. ↑ "CAF – CAF Awards – Previous Editions – 2016". CAFOnline. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  30. ↑ Football, CAF - Confederation of African. "CAF - CAF Awards - Current Edition". www.cafonline.com. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
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