Eric Bailly

Eric Bertrand Bailly (French pronunciation: ​[eʁik bɛʁ.tʁɑ̃ baji]; born 12 April 1994) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays for Premier League 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.[3]

For people of a similar name, see Eric Bailey.

Eric Bailly
Bailly lining up for the Ivory Coast in 2015
Personal information
Full name Eric Bertrand Bailly[1]
Date of birth (1994-04-12) 12 April 1994[2]
Place of birth Bingerville, Ivory Coast
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) 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 61 (1)
National team‡
2015– Ivory Coast 36 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:22, 20 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17:43, 18 October 2020 (UTC)

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]

2016–17 season: Debut campaign
Bailly warming up for Manchester United in 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]

2017–18 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.[23]

On 8 November 2017, Bailly suffered an ankle injury where he was sidelined for around 100 days and returned to action on 17 February 2018 coming on as a substitute for Romelu Lukaku in the final 90 minute added additional time in a 2-0 win over Huddersfield in the FA Cup.[24][25] He went on and made a total of 18 appearances and scored 1 goal in all competitions at the end of the season.

2018–2020: Injury-hit campaigns

Baily's injury problems continued in the 2018-19 season which caused him to only feature in only 18 games in all competitions within the season with 12 appearances coming in from the Premier league.

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.[26] 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.[27] 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.[28] He made a comeback in the premier league and played his first match of the season on 17 February 2020 in a 2- 0 win match against Chelsea. He played the full 90 minutes of the match.[29][30][31]

International career
Bailly playing for the Ivory Coast in 2017

On 29 December 2014, Bailly was included in Hervé Renard's 23-man squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.[32] He made his debut on 11 January 2015, in a friendly against Nigeria,[33] 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.[34] 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.[35]

In April 2019 he suffered a knee injury, ruling him out of the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations.[36]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 20 January 2021[37]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe 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—2[lower-alpha 1]0—120
2015–16 La Liga 25030—7[lower-alpha 1]1—351
Total 35030—91—471
Manchester United 2016–17 Premier League 250001011[lower-alpha 1]010380
2017–18 Premier League 13120003[lower-alpha 2]000181
2018–19 Premier League 12010104[lower-alpha 2]0—180
2019–20 Premier League 4030004[lower-alpha 1]0—110
2020–21 Premier League 70103000—110
Total 611705022010961
Career total 122110050311101692
  1. Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearances in the UEFA Champions League

International
As of match played 13 October 2020[38]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Ivory Coast 2015120
201650
2017110
201851
201911
202020
Total362

International goals
As of match played 13 October 2020. Ivory Coast score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bailly goal.[38]
International goals by date, venue, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 12 October 2018Stade Bouaké, Bouaké, Ivory Coast Central African Republic2–04–02019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2 23 March 2019Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast Rwanda2–03–0

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: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  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. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/34564276
  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. Archived from the original on 9 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.
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  22. "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. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
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  27. "Senior pair make comeback in under-23s". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  28. "Eric Bailly: Manchester United trigger two-year extension in defender's contract". Sky Sports. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
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  30. McNulty, Phil (17 February 2020). "Man Utd win at Chelsea to go seventh". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
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  32. 2015 Nations Cup: Kolo Toure in squad for last time; BBC Sport, 29 December 2014
  33. Kalou Hands Cote D'Ivoire Late Win Over Nigeria; SL10, 11 January 2015
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  35. "Manchester United player Bailly stars for Ivory Coast". Citizen. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  36. "Eric Bailly: Man Utd defender ruled out of Africa Cup of Nations". BBC Sport. 29 April 2019.
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  38. "Bailly, Éric". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
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  40. Bevan, Chris (7 August 2016). "Leicester City 1–2 Manchester United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  41. McNulty, Phil (24 May 2017). "Ajax 0–2 Manchester United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
    "FBL-EUR-C3-AJAX-MAN UTD". Getty Images. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
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