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Former Manchester United defender Eric Bailly has had a whirlwind few weeks that have ended with his contract at Turkish club Besiktas ripped up, after he was left out the first-team and threatened with a curse.
The Ivory Coast international left Old Trafford back in September after spending the whole of last term on loan in France with Marseille, bringing an ended to his stint with the Premier League giants.
At the start of November, Bailly was caught in a bust-up with his own team-mate Tayfur Bingol midway through Besiktas’ league clash at Antalyaspor, where the visitors suffered a disappointing 3-2 defeat.
Bailly blamed the altercation with Bingol on ‘competitive tension’ and was duly hooked at half-time following an on-pitch argument.
He would play only 27 more minutes of football in November, before things went from bad to worse at the start of December.
Eric Bailly has had his contract at Besktas ripped up after a whirlwind stint at the Turkish club
The Ivory Coast star arrived in Turkey in Spetember after leaving Manchester United
According to the Daily Mirror, the player revealed that he had become the victim of a curse against him, stemming from claims that an agent was owed money from his transfer to the Turkish giants.
During Besiktas’ 3-1 defeat to rivals Fenerbahce he was sent a message on WhatsApp promising to curse him, before giving away a penalty in the following game.
After his misfortunes he is thought to have received another message which read: ‘I am happy to see what my curse is doing to you. You are not a man. You are a big Mickey Mouse.’
Another message included: ‘I will not let you f*** me in my own country. You will see what happens after I open a fraud case against you.’
Bailly’s agent, his uncle Severin Bohui said of the situation: ‘He’s not stopped sending him threats, messages and blackmails. He is insinuating Eric owes him some money, because he was part of the people who brokered his move to Besiktas. Therefore Eric should pay him some money.
‘I asked Eric if he signed any intermediation contract with this guy, he said no. I also asked the club if they knew this guy or if they asked him to speak to Eric on their behalf, they also said no. Same old story of agents trying to barge in deals.
‘One thing is for sure this guy has not stopped harassing Eric. He even sent him a message today after their defeat to Fenerbahce. He’s threatening to send people out to him so I don’t think blocking him will solve the problem. This is more of a security issue than a FIFA one.’
Then at the start of December it emerged that Bailly was one of five senior players who had been exiled from the first-team, with Besiktas citing issues with team compatibility and poor performances.
Alongside Bailly were Vincent Aboubakar, Rachid Ghezzal, Jean Onana and Valentin Rosier, with the quintet forced to train away from the senior side, although their contracts were at that point still intact.
But that would last less than three weeks more, with Bailly ultimately seeing his contract ripped up by the club on Friday, accompanied by a curt statement.
‘The contract with Eric Bailly, the player of our first team, has been terminated by mutual agreement,’ Besiktas said. ‘We wish Eric Bailly success in his career. Regards. Besiktas JK.’
