Bailly: “I signed for United because of Mourinho”

Eric Bailly has revealed that he rejected Manchester City this summer in favour of a move to Manchester United.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, the Ivorian defender, who joined the Reds in a £30 million move from Spanish side Villarreal, revealed that the presence of José Mourinho was key to his decision to join the red half of Manchester.

The 22-year-old also revealed that fellow countryman Didier Drogba’s advice proved crucial to his decision. Drogba, of course, was a key player for Chelsea during Mourinho’s first spell with the Blues.

He said:

I signed for United because I like Mourinho, it’s as simple as that. I wanted to play for someone that works very hard.

I prefer Mourinho in part because of Didier Drogba, who Mourinho has worked with. I know Didier from the Ivory Coast, he is a friend, and he spoke to me and told me, ‘Jose did this for me, Jose did that for me.’

Once Jose spoke to me and Didier gave me advice, I knew straight away that I wanted to play for him.

Bailly said that the blue half of Manchester made an approach for him and his international teammate Yaya Toure also tried to sway him into making a move to the Etihad Stadium:

I didn’t speak to Pep Guardiola but the second [assistant] manager called me. Yaya also called me and said I should come to City.

The new addition has quietly impressed during United’s pre-season preparations, starting all three pre-season matches under Mourinho and the Ivorian international looks set to partner Chris Smalling when the season gets underway in two weeks’ time against Bournemouth.