According to Eric Bailly, Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from Manchester United was unfortunate. He believes that the world’s greatest player might have helped the team during this time.

In an interview with The Athletic, Bailly asserted that Erik ten Hag had failed to provide Ronaldo with the sense of importance he deserved at Manchester United. It might not have been the finest manner for the striker to end his Old Trafford career.

He said, “Cristiano Ronaldo returned, the legend coming back. He was the best player in the world for me. Even when he returned, Cristiano contributed a lot to the club, and a player like Cristiano deserves to feel important. It’s a shame he left in the circumstances he did.”

Bailly praised Ronaldo as the world’s finest player, but he did not mention that the Al Nassr star outperformed him at Manchester United. In an earlier interview, he mentioned Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford to L’Equipe.

The defender said, “I knew a lot of great players in Manchester. But if I have to talk about everyone who impressed me, we’re never going to finish this interview! There was incredible talent, both old and young. Someone like Marcus Rashford really blew me away. Anthony Martial too.”

When Guillem Balague was asked in 2021 who had influenced him the most, Eric Bailly answered. He mentioned Real Madrid great Sergio Ramos instead of Cristiano Ronaldo. This was truly one of the more shocking replies to this sort of question.

The centre-back said, “My greatest inspiration has always been (Sergio) Ramos. I’ve admired him for a long time because of what he does in football and how he keeps going at a high level. For me, he’s one of the best players in the history of football. Everyone has an opinion, but he is one of the best, the perfect reference point for me. If you ask me, Messi or Ronaldo, I’d say Ramos.”