Ronaldo achieved much success during his first period with Man Utd from 2003 to 2009, winning three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two League Cups, one Champions League and winning the 2008 Golden Ball. This light helps the Portuguese striker be classified as a legend of the Old Trafford team.
However, things were no longer good for Ronaldo when he left Juventus to return to Man Utd in the summer of 2021. At that time, the Portuguese striker was 36 years old. He scored 27 goals in 54 matches in the second phase with the Old Trafford team. At the beginning of the 2022-2023 season, Ronaldo had a disagreement with coach Erik ten Hag. He conducted a controversial interview with Piers Morgan. Here, Ronaldo publicly criticized Man Utd, the club’s owner, Ten Hag and his teammates. Therefore, the 38-year-old striker had his contract liquidated by Man Utd and moved to Saudi Arabia to play for Al Nassr.
“For me, Ronaldo is the best player in the world,” Bailly said in The Athletic (UK) newspaper on January 3. “Even when he returned to Man Utd at the age of 36, he still contributed a lot to the club and a player like Ronaldo deserves to feel important. It’s a pity that he left the club in such circumstances.”
Bailly played for Man Utd from 2016 to 2022. He worked side by side with Ronaldo in the 2021-2022 season because from August 2022, the Ivory Coast midfielder was loaned to Marseille. Bailly was constantly injured during his time playing for Man Utd, causing his contribution to become limited. In the summer of 2023, the 29-year-old midfielder was sold to Besiktas. In January 2024, he returned to Villarreal – the club he played for before joining Man Utd.
Bailly recalled the moment he received a call from Jose Mourinho, who convinced him to come to Man Utd in 2016. “I felt like I was hallucinating. I thought someone was teasing me. How could I believe Mourinho called me?” I told him to prove it by playing the video and he did so. At that time, my mother was next to me. It was Mourinho, and he invited me to Man Utd. I did,” he recounted. .
The 29-year-old midfielder also opened up about the time he struggled with injury. According to Bailly, there is nothing worse than the feeling of sitting on the sidelines and not being able to help the club. Bailly only started 67 matches in three and a half years playing in England, 37 of which took place in his first season with Man Utd.