The boy who escaped a war in Africa with the help of Espanyol

BarcelonaEmilio Montiagut still remembers the sweltering heat of the spring of 2010 in Ouagadougou. At the time, he was a scout for Espanyol, and the club sent him to Burkina Faso to look for young talent in "a kind of footballing talent show" with players from different parts of the African continent. "There were more than a hundred, and every day I watched six or seven matches," says the Espanyol scout, who noted down the name of Eric Bertrand Bailly from Ivory Coast: "He played full-back, defensive midfielder, and center-back; he was a physical marvel, a spectacular footballer." He was fifteen years old and was represented by a regional branch of Promoesport, the agency that organized those days in the heart of West Africa. Upon his return, Montiagut recommended the boy to the club, and Antonio Morales, advisor and head of the youth football clubThey acquired 50% of the player's rights at no cost – Espanyol could have bought an additional 30% for €200,000. In return, Eric, who was still a child, moved to Barcelona to live and train at the Catalan club's youth academy. For a long time, he couldn't compete due to problems with his paperwork. "He arrived with nothing. I remember giving him clothes; he didn't know the language, and we enrolled him in a vocational training program. He was humble and polite, and always smiling. He was very clear that he wanted to be a professional footballer to help his family," explains Ramon Guerrero, director of the residence.

A civil war

"After a few months, he came to my office and asked to go home for a few days because he hadn't seen his family in a long time. We arranged it, but it turned out that while he was there, the second civil war in Ivory Coast broke out," explains Montiagut. The player was detained in his country for weeks and was released thanks to the intervention of Antonio Morales: "I made arrangements with the consul of a neighboring country. I can't say more."

More than a year after his return, Eric, a player who had been marked in red in the youth ranks, was able to play his first official match in October 2012 with the Juvenil A team. He was eighteen years old at the time and lived in an apartment with Joan Jordan; once a week he cooked African food. "They were from the same generation and had shared a room in the residence hall. They became close friends, like brothers," says Ramon Guerrero, who still has a portrait of the Ivorian hanging on the walls of the building he manages.

"He was very powerful and, little by little, he refined his tactical aspects. Given his age and physique, you could see he was going to have a long career," analyzes Raúl Longhi, who often brought him up to train with the reserve team when he was still a youth player. After playing just twenty matches for Espanyol B, Sergio González called him up to the first team. In October 2014, at twenty years old, Eric Bertrand – he didn't adopt the name Bailly until later – made his debut against Real Sociedad, replacing Sergio García and wearing the number 30 jersey. He played four more matches, always in the starting eleven, before go to the Africa Cup of Nations In winter. An undisputed starter for Ivory Coast, he was one of the scorers in the penalty shootout that crowned them champions of their continent.

Transfer to Villarreal

His emergence had attracted the attention of major clubs, and the footballer never returned to Barcelona. From Equatorial Guinea, he flew directly to Castellón for to sign for VillarrealVillarreal paid six million for him. Since Espanyol only owned 50% of his rights and didn't have the funds to buy Promoesport's share at the time, they were forced to sell him due to contractual issues. They lost a valuable asset but earned over a million per game played. A brilliant deal for Villarreal, who, a year and a half later, after 35 appearances, sold him to Manchester United for 40 million. He became Mourinho's first signing at Old Trafford.

Despite winning a Europa League title, Eric Bailly's time in England didn't quite work out. He has also played for Olympique de Marseille, Besiktas, and Villarreal again, and whenever he can, he returns to Barcelona to visit his friends at the club where he started his football career. "He comes to see us every year and stops by the residence. A few months ago, he introduced me to his wife and daughters," concludes Guerrero, whom Bailly still calls "Papa Ramon," with emotion. Last summer, he signed for Oviedo, and if his lingering physical discomfort doesn't prevent him from traveling, this Monday (9 p.m., Movistar+ LaLiga) he will reunite with old friends on the pitch at the RCDE Stadium.