Eric Bailly reveals he snubbed Manchester City to work for Jose Mourinho at Manchester United after advice from Didier Drogba

Manchester United defender Eric Bailly has revealed that he joined the club in spite of interest from rivals Manchester City.

Bailly signed for Jose Mourinho's team from Villarreal earlier this summer for £30million but claimed that Yaya Toure had tried to persuade him to team up at City.

The centreback went on to add that it was a phone call with Mourinho and conversation with Didier Drogba that convinced him Old Trafford should be his destination. 

Bailly told The Sun: 'I signed for United because I like Mourinho, as simple as that. I wanted to play for someone who works very hard.'

The defender made sure of his due diligence before committing to either side and spoke to fellow Ivory Coast players before making a decision.

Didier Drogba was an integral part of Mourinho's success at Chelsea and the striker offered a glowing reference to Bailly about his former boss.

Mourinho called me as well and he told me to come and play for him. I prefer Mourinho, in part because of Didier Drogba, who worked with him. Didier is a friend and he told me Jose did a lot for him.'

But Bailly did not choose United without first consulting another Ivorian in City midfielder Yaya Toure. 

'Yaya also called me and wanted me to come to City, but once Jose spoke to me and Didier gave me advice, I knew straight away I wanted to play for him.'

The fierce Manchester rivals were scheduled to meet in a pre-season friendly in Beijing but heavy rain on the turf at Bird's Nest Stadium rendered the pitch unplayable.

Source: UK Daily Mail