15 Quotes by Eric Bailly

I joined Espanyol in 2011, and three years later I made my first-team debut.

I would try to be a striker even though I wasn't and once I started growing up and seeing professional football was a step closer I would look at Sergio Ramos. I always looked up to Ramos as an example and watched him a lot.

I was following Marseille and looking up to my compatriot playing there, Didier Drogba, and my team was Marseille.

In about five years I had gone from selling cigarettes in the streets of Abidjan to playing for the biggest club in the world.

It was very hard leaving the people I was very close to. But you also have to value opportunities that come. I had a strong mindset to withstand that and come alone to Spain.

I am not going to complain about the life I've had so far. In Africa, there are people that live in more difficult situations. I've had the luck of having parents who work and have helped me out, they've done everything possible for me to get here.