Jose Mourinho has explained why Eric Bailly hasn't played for Manchester United recently and it's a rather bizarre call.
The former Villarreal man, a £30 million signing in 2016, is comfortably the club's top central defender but has only made 16 appearances this season due to injuries - his last outing being the 3-2 Manchester derby win at the Etihad Stadium.
He is fit and available at present but Mourinho has exiled him because he is not going to the World Cup and his other centre-backs are vying for a spot for their respective national teams.
"He's fine, no injury, he is one of our five central defenders and honestly my work is not about World Cups and preparing players for the World Cup or giving chances to players at the World Cup," the Manchester United manager said, as per The Mirror.
"But he's the only central defender whose country is not in the World Cup, so if I have to make a kind of more emotional effective choice to help my players he's the one I'm not going to help.
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"Rojo, Lindelof, Jones, Smalling, all of them are wishing to make the squad for the World Cup and Eric is not under that pressure."
However United fans were not having his explanation at all and aired their thoughts on social media:
Topics: Football News, Jose Mourinho, Football, Manchester United, Eric Bailly
