Any player who leaves Manchester United on loan does so with a point to prove. This week, what Eric Bailly pointed out was exactly why he didn't have the right mentality or attitude to cut it at the club.
Bailly, 28, was allowed to join French club Marseille on loan in the summer window despite an encouraging pre-season tour, though he knew he'd be fourth-choice at best this season, following the signing of Lisandro Martinez. Many had hoped the centre-back would leave with his head held high, leaving on his own terms and heading to Ligue 1 to show Erik ten Hag exactly what he was missing.
Instead, he has shown that the Dutchman dodged a bullet by not keeping him at the club. The Ivorian defender caused a social media storm on Tuesday when he voiced a conspiracy theory that United openly favoured English players and didn't give a fair opportunity to others.
READ MORE: Bailly accuses United of favouring English players
"The club should avoid favouring English players and give everyone a chance," Bailly claimed. "[The club should] encourage competition in the dressing room, not just look out for some. I've always had the feeling that the national player was prioritised.
"That doesn't happen at Chelsea or other big Premier League clubs.
"Some people take it for granted that they are going to start, and that weakens the team. Luckily, Ten Hag has a lot of character and I hope he can change that dynamic."
Worryingly, this isn't a train of thought exclusive to Bailly either. Many social media users will be aware that when discussing a divisive player like England international Harry Maguire in a post, there will typically be a response criticising the author of 'ENGLISH MEDIA BIAS' or some other nonsense that seems to suggest every journalist, blogger, and social media account meet up at the start of a season to select our list of favourites.
In this particular instance, it is worth noting that this piece is being written by a Welshman who has no interest in the England national team and who cynically enjoys seeing their major tournament dreams end in heartbreak.
Of course, though, certain managers will have favourites. Many interpreted Bailly's comments as a thinly veiled swipe at club captain Maguire, but there is mitigation to why he kept his place in the squad despite many below-par performances.
Firstly, he was, at the time, the second-most expensive signing in the club's history and was expected to start every week, just as Antony will be now that he has taken that title. Secondly, he was signed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, so the manager's own reputation was intrinsically linked to the success of Maguire. Thirdly, he was the club captain, and dropping him altogether would therefore reflect badly on Solskjaer and potentially cause dressing room unrest.
The fourth point is that Maguire once again reached a world-class level of performance at the European Championship last summer. It might hurt for some to admit, but he is a very good player.
Now, there can be no ignoring the fact that at his best, Bailly has been as good as any United defender since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. The problem is that he reached his ceiling in his first month at the club, and despite a good debut season, his performances haven't been the same since.
Due to United's poor recruitment strategy, the 28-year-old has regularly been thrown back into the line-up to solve an injury crisis or to try and bring solidity to a porous backline. Yet no matter how well he starts, disaster isn't far away, be it through rotten injury luck of his own, or quite often through idiotic decision making.
Bailly missed a staggering 103 games in six years through a combination of injuries and illness, averaging fewer than 20 starts a season, something that then worked against him in his later seasons.
There have been a few moments when it seemed sensible to make changes in defence, with Bailly a leading candidate to come in, but the harsh truth is that few people actually trusted him to be a long-term solution. Even when playing badly, there was an argument to stick with Maguire and Victor Lindelof in the hope they improved, rather than switch to a short-term stop gap who would get injured or implode, leaving United back at square one.
Bailly started six games for United last season and they only won one of them — a victory at home to a Burnley side that would be relegated come the end of the season. The Ivorian struggled in the Carabao Cup home defeat to West Ham, a home draw to Young Boys in the Europa League and netted a calamitous own goal against Man City.
In short, even when he was given an opportunity, he rarely took it, which means that even when Maguire was injured last season, Raphael Varane and Lindelof were chosen ahead of him.
Even in his short time at Marseille, Bailly has started one of their three matches and was an unused substitute in their latest outing against Auxerre at the weekend. That is perhaps the clearest evidence that he shouldn't have been starting for United anyway.
Of course, Bailly has every right to feel aggrieved after a largely disappointing spell at Old Trafford, but instead of criticising the club for their selection policy, he should be proving them wrong with his performances on the pitch.
With an eagerly anticipated Champions League tie against Tottenham on the cards this Wednesday night, the time for talking is over.
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