Former £30m Man United star BANISHED from Besiktas just 98 days after joining, with the club citing 'poor performance' and 'incompatibility with the team'

Former Manchester United defender Eric Bailly has been banished from Besiktas' squad despite only joining the Turkish giants in September.

Bailly, 29, arrived at United in a £30million deal from LaLiga side Villarreal under Jose Mourinho in 2016, but failed to convince at Old Trafford.

He made 113 appearances for the Red Devils but last appeared in the 2021-22 campaign, with the Ivory Coast star spending last season on loan with Marseille, before he joined Besiktas in the summer. 

However, his time with the Turkish giants now appears to be over with the club announcing on Monday that Bailly is one of five players who have been 'excluded from the squad', which comes just 98 days after his arrival.

A 3-1 home defeat to rivals Fenerbahce on Saturday seemed to be the final straw, with Vincent Aboubakar, Valentin Rosier, Rachid Ghezzal and Jean Onana also banished from the squad.

In a statement the club said: 'Information from our club. 5 players from our Football A Team have been excluded from the squad.

'Our Football Teams General Coordinator Samet Aybaba; He announced that Vincent Aboubakar, Valentin Rosier, Eric Bailly, Rachid Ghezzal and Jean Onana were excluded from the squad due to poor performance and incompatibility within the team.

'Our work on the new staff structure continues. We respectfully present it to the public.'

Bailly had started the loss to Fenerbahce, while former Leicester City winger Ghezzal and Aboubakar - who is the club's top scorer this season - came on as substitutes.

Onana was left on the bench while Rosier did not even make the squad. 

It has been a difficult campaign so far for Besiktas, with the club struggling in fifth place in the Turkish Super Lig, while they are also guaranteed to finish bottom of their Europa Conference League group after picking up just one point from five games. 

This has been coupled with rivals Fenerbahce and Galatasaray enjoying fine seasons, with both sides 14 points clear of Besiktas in the league, while they continue to make inroads in European competitions. 

Meanwhile, Bailly's departure comes amid reports that an agent has claimed to put a curse on him. 

The defender - who has been ravaged by injury and made just eight appearances for Besiktas - was accused of owing a representative money over his move to Besiktas, according to The Mirror. 

The report claims Bailly has received several disturbing messages from the agent, including threats of physical violence and legal action. 

Following the game against Fenerbahce - when Bailly gave a penalty away for handball - the agent then allegedly told the defender he had successfully cursed him, as one message 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 said: 'I will not let you f*** me in my own country. You will see what happens after I open a fraud case against you.' 

Besiktas have been alerted to the problem, with the club announcing they will inform the police, while FIFA could potentially get involved in the issue. 

Bailly's official representative is his uncle Severin Bohui, who has reportedly claimed the abuser has no case and was not at all involved with the deal which took the defender to Besiktas.