Bruno Fernandes has revealed that he purposely used to target Eric Bailly and other big Manchester United players in training - to help ensure that he wouldn't be bullied in real matches.
Fernandes quickly established himself as one of United's most important players following his arrival from Sporting Lisbon back in January 2020 and has even donned the captain's armband this year in the absence of Harry Maguire.
The 28-year-old was influential under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during his first 18 months at the club, but he struggled for form during last year's disastrous Premier League campaign.
Fernandes is another United player who has been reinvigorated under Erik ten Hag in the early weeks of the new campaign.
The Portuguese playmaker has been lifting the lid on some of the unorthodox training methods he has adopted since arriving in Manchester - and it turns out Bailly, who left United to join Marseille on a season-long loan deal in the summer, has regularly been in Fernandes' firing line.
Speaking on Soccer AM, Fernandes said: "I like to mess with the big ones so you get used to being bullied in the games. One of the ones I would always mess about with was Eric Bailly. Always in training, I would play as a 10 and he would play as a centre-back and he has to jump on me. I was always playing one-touch. He kicked me so many times and every time that I pass the ball to do a one-two he would always put me on the ground.
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"He said 'Every time you get the ball, the first touch, I have to put you on the ground or you will run away from me'. Even on the training ground, I would know he is coming and instead of moving backwards, I would run forward so he can't kick me. Sometimes even when he was on the ball and would pass it I would kick him and put him on the ground.
"It's the way that the mood - and it depends on the results, if the results are better it's always easier to joke about because when you are not in the mood, even in training sessions, joking like this, kicking someone, can be seen in a different way."
Although Ten Hag's arrival has been the catalyst for Fernandes to rediscover his form, the Dutchman's arrival, and the subsequent signing of Lisandro Martinez in a £55million deal from Ajax, effectively spelt the end of Bailly's United career.
The Ivory Coast international featured just seven times in all competitions for United last term.
