Former Manchester United defender Eric Bailly has had his contract terminated at Besiktas, with the centre-back not the only player to have struggled after leaving Old Trafford in recent years.

Bailly joined the Turkish side on a free transfer in the summer but his move certainly didn’t go to plan.

Here’s a look at some of the players to have endured difficulties having left United.

Ex-Man United defender Eric Bailly endured a nightmare spell at Turkish club Besiktas

Eric Bailly

Bailly had a torrid time during his short stint at Besiktas, which included being involved in a bust-up with team-mate Tayfur Bingol during a game against Antalyaspor.

The defender was then exiled from the first-team squad and ended up playing just eight times for Besiktas.

According to the Daily Mirror, Bailly revealed that he was the victim of a curse amid claims that an agent was owed money from his move to the club.

Jesse Lingard

United youth graduate Lingard made 232 appearances for the club and scored 35 goals.

Lingard, who has 32 caps for England, has found it difficult to make progress following his departure from United.

After a season at Nottingham Forest he is now a free agent and wasn’t able to earn a contract at Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq or his former loan club West Ham.

Ex-United player Jesse Lingard is still a free agent after leaving Nottingham Forest

Paul Pogba

When United re-signed Pogba from Juventus for £89million in 2016 he became the most expensive player in the world at the time.

Although he impressed in patches, Pogba lacked consistency at United and ended up heading back to Juventus in 2022.

Injury problems restricted Pogba to just ten appearances last season. He only played twice this campaign before testing positive for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and could face a ban of up to four years. 

Paul Pogba is provisionally suspended after testing positive for DHEA at Juventus

Cameron Borthwick-Jackson

Another United youth product, Borthwick-Jackson broke into the first-team in the 2015-16 campaign and proceeded to make 14 senior appearances for the club.

After he was released by United in 2020, Borthwick-Jackson signed permanently for Oldham, where he was previously on loan.

A switch to Burton Albion in League One followed and Borthwick-Jackson is now in the Polish top flight with Slask Wroclaw, for whom he has played just twice in the league this season.

United youth product Cameron Borthwick-Jackson is now playing for Slask Wroclaw in Poland

David de Gea

Signed as a talented young goalkeeper from Atletico Madrid in 2011, De Gea went on to play 545 times for the club and kept 190 clean sheets.

Although there were some notable errors, there were also many occasions when De Gea was the hero for United, especially during difficult times for the club.

De Gea’s United contract expired at the end of last season and, somewhat surprisingly, he has still yet to sign for a new club.

Goalkeeper David de Gea has still yet to sign for a new club after his departure from United

Phil Jones

Jones also joined United in 2011 as he arrived from Blackburn, with Sir Alex Ferguson claiming in 2013 that the defender could go on to become the Red Devils’ best ever player.

It didn’t quite work out like that, with injuries heavily affecting his progress. Towards the end of his time at the club Jones became an increasingly peripheral figure as he barely featured.

Jones has yet to sign for a new club after leaving United at the end of last season. The former England international has spent time overseeing training sessions involving United’s youth teams as he works towards his coaching badges.

Ex-United defender Phil Jones has spent time helping to coach the club’s youngsters

Morgan Schneiderlin

Schneiderlin spent two seasons at United before moving to Everton.

The midfielder then had a spell at Nice but a move to Konyaspor didn’t work out as his contract with the Turkish club was terminated by mutual consent after just ten days.

Now aged 34, Schneiderlin is playing for Greek club Kifisia.

Morgan Schneiderlin saw his spell at Konyaspor come to an end after just ten days

Federico Macheda

Macheda famously burst onto the scene with a late winner on his debut for United against Aston Villa as a 17-year-old during their 2008-09 title-winning campaign.

However, he only ended up scoring five goals in 36 appearances for United in total.

After spells at Cardiff, Novara and Panathinaikos, he is currently at Turkish club Ankaragucu and has made just seven league appearances so far this season, scoring once.

Federico Macheda impressed as a youngster at United but has subsequently had difficulties

Alex Buttner

After signing from Vitesse in 2012, Buttner was part of the United squad that won the Premier League title in his first campaign at the club. Although he only made five league appearances that season, Buttner was given a medal after receiving special dispensation from Sir Alex Ferguson.

Buttner left United in 2014 and signed for Dynamo Moscow before returning to Vitesse.

Having represented New England Revolution and RKC Waalwijk, the 34-year-old is now in the Dutch second tier with De Graafschap.

Alex Buttner, who won the Premier League with United, now plays in the Dutch second tier

Nick Powell

Signed under Ferguson as a wonderkid from Crewe in 2012, Powell ended up playing just nine senior games for the club.

Powell departed Old Trafford in 2016 and had spells at Wigan and Stoke.

The 29-year-old, who has had often struggled with injuries, is now playing for Stockport in League Two.

Nick Powell, who arrived at United as a wonderkid, is now playing for Stockport in League Two