Ex-Man United defender Eric Bailly re-joins old club Villarreal as a free agent after having his Besiktas contract TORN UP weeks after being banished from squad

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Eric Bailly has joined Villarreal as free agent on an 18-month contract following the termination of his contract with Turkish side Besiktas after only four months at the club. 

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.

He would play only 27 more minutes of football in November, before things went from bad to worse at in December before his deal was abruptly ended on Friday. 

Bailly has now returned to the club where he spent a season-and-a-half from 2015 and impressed enough to earn big-money move to Manchester United in 2016. 

Eric Bailly has returned to Villarreal following the termination of his contract with Besiktas

Bailly made 47 appearances for the LaLiga side in an 18-month spell with Villarreal in 2015-16

 The 29-year-old went on to spent seven years at Old Trafford between 2016 and 2023, making 113 appearances for the Red Devils.

Bailly joins a much-changed Villarreal side to the one he left, as the outfit look to improve on a stuttering start that has seen them amass just 19 points from their first 18 games. 

Marcelino's side grabbed a victory in their final game before the LaLiga winter break, beating Celta Vigo 3-2 at home.

The Spanish boss will hope that Bailly can help improve a defence that has been the third worst in the division - better only than the bottom two sides Almeria and Granada.