Absolute nonsense – Jamie Carragher hits out at Manchester United outcast Eric Bailly over Harry Maguire dig
Jamie Carragher has slammed Eric Bailly after the Manchester United loanee accused the Premier League club of ‘favoring’ English players in team choices.
Bailly made just seven appearances for United last season and was loaned out to Marseille in the summer.
Last season, the Ivory Coast international saw little action as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick stayed by England center-back Maguire despite his poor results at Old Trafford.
‘The club should avoid preferential treatment of English players and give everyone an opportunity,’ Bailly told The Times.
‘[The club should] encourage competition in the locker room rather than just looking for some.’ I’ve always got the impression that the national player was given priority.
‘That doesn’t happen at Chelsea or any of the other big Premier League clubs.’ Some people take it for granted that they will start, which undermines the squad.
‘Fortunately, [Erik] Ten Hag has a lot of personalities, and I’m hoping he can improve that dynamic.’ Erik Ten Hag and I met in the locker room at the end of last season when he went to sign his contract.
‘I started gathering my belongings to leave, but he told me he wanted me to stay because he was going to give everyone minutes.’
‘I committed to doing the United summer tour, and he fulfilled his word, but I don’t want to play every now and again.’ I want to do it every week so that I can feel important. ‘I want to regain my confidence.’
Former Liverpool and England defender Carragher, on the other hand, has termed Bailly’s assertions “total nonsense” and claims the defender did not play at United because he was “consistently injured and bad” when he was fit.
‘Absolute nonsense, Eric Bailly has been continuously injured and bad when he has played,’ Carragher posted on Twitter.
‘That’s why they keep bringing in new players to replace him!’ Harry Maguire is a more talented player.’
In April, Bailly took another shot at Maguire by approving an Instagram message from a fan urging interim manager Rangnick to bench United’s captain.
Maguire started United’s opening two games of the season but was benched after a loss at home to Brighton and an embarrassing defeat at Brentford.
In Maguire’s absence, Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane have formed a promising center-back pairing that has helped United win four consecutive games.
Manchester United, presently sixth in the Premier League, kicks off their Europa League campaign on Thursday night against Real Sociedad.
