Manchester United have reportedly ‘accepted’ that signing defender Eric Bailly to a three-year contract was a ‘mistake.’
Bailly signed the contract extension in April of last year, saying at the time that he wanted to stay injury-free and realize his dream of winning the Premier League with the club.
However, it has been a difficult season for the Ivory Coast international, who has only made six starts this season.
Bailly has been pushed down the pecking order at Old Trafford by Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane, and Victor Lindelof.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Manchester United have privately conceded that offering the 28-year-old a contract extension was a mistake.
According to the report, the transaction occurred as a result of the club’s former executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward’s strategy of “tying down peripheral players to new deals to increase their resale value.”
Meanwhile, Bailly has become disillusioned with life at Old Trafford due to a lack of opportunities and has been angry that out-of-form captain Harry Maguire has retained his starting spot ahead of him.
Those dissatisfactions were made public when he begged to start ahead of Maguire in last month’s 3-1 loss to Arsenal in the Premier League.
Bailly responded on Instagram to a fan who asked for Bailly and Varane to start for Manchester United against Arsenal, writing ‘please’ with a laughing and praying emoji.
When asked about Bailly’s post, Rangnick remarked during his pre-match news conference before Arsenal’s match against Manchester United that it’s not proper for the former Villarreal defender to write anything like that.
Rangnick said, “If it’s true what you told me, it’s not the right sign and should not happen in a football club, no matter what league.
“I’m not on Instagram. Listen, I’m not talking about my players in the press conference not knowing what has happened, it doesn’t make sense. I can only tell you, never in my life will I be part of Instagram.”
