Yannick Bolasie (born 24 May 1989) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a winger for

TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig, officially known as Spor Toto 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization of the ...

club

Çaykur Rizespor Çaykur Rizespor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Rize. The club play in the TFF First League. The club was founded on May 19, 1953, with green-yellow as club colours, but later changed to blue-green. Since 1990, the team ...

. He has played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

for Plymouth Argyle,

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

, Everton and Aston Villa. Born in France, he represents the DR Congo national team.

Club career

Early career

Bolasie began his career with

Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town F.C., Ke ...

at age 16. He spent four months as a member of their youth team and then had a spell with Hillingdon Borough in the Southern Football League before moving across Europe to play for

Floriana Floriana ( mt, Il-Furjana or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a fortified town in the South Eastern Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014. Floriana ...

in the

Maltese Premier League The Maltese Premier League, known as BOV Premier League for sponsorship reasons with Bank of Valletta ( colloquially known as ''Il-Kampjonat Premjer''), is the highest level of professional football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Football Associa ...

. He returned to England in 2008 after being offered a trial with Plymouth Argyle and impressed enough to be offered a two-year contract. He joined Dagenham & Redbridge on trial with a view to a loan move before returning to Rushden & Diamonds on loan near the end of the year. He made his debut against Eastbourne Borough on 29 November, and made seven appearances in the Conference before returning to Argyle in January 2009. Bolasie then joined

on loan, making his Football League debut against

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete his ...

on 24 January 2009. He scored his first goal two weeks later, opening the scoring in a 3–3 draw against

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

. Bolasie returned to Argyle at the end of the 2008–09 season having made 20 league appearances for Barnet, scoring three goals. The club's manager,

Ian Hendon Ian Michael Hendon (born 5 December 1971) is an English football manager and former player who played as a defender. Playing career Hendon was born in Ilford, Greater London. Primarily a right-back but sometimes deployed in the centre or in ...

, was keen to bring Bolasie back, but dismissed the chances of signing him permanently. Hendon said, "Yannick is still under contract at Plymouth, so it is likely that he will return there at the end of the season." He rejoined the Barnet squad in July 2009 ahead of the new season on a six-month loan, and hoped it would act as a springboard to winning a place in the Argyle first team. Bolasie scored against Grimsby again in October 2009, capping a fine display with a fierce shot from 30 yards Bolasie scored his second goal of the season three weeks later against Darlington, as Hendon's side maintained a place in the top half of the

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

table.

Plymouth Argyle

Bolasie returned to Plymouth Argyle in January 2010, having made a further 22 league appearances for Barnet, scoring twice. He was given a chance to impress by

Paul Mariner Paul Mariner (22 May 1953 – 9 July 2021) was an English football player and coach. A centre forward during his playing days, Mariner began his career with Chorley. He became a professional player in 1973 with Plymouth Argyle, where he scored ...

, who had succeeded Sturrock a month earlier, and included him in the squad to take on Barnsley on 13 February 2010. He made his debut for the club in that game, coming off the substitute bench to provide the momentum to turn a one nil deficit into a 3–1 win for the visitors. He scored his first goal for the club two weeks later at

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

. The pacy winger, ended the season with 16

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

appearances to his name, but could not prevent the club from being relegated to

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

. Bolasie was offered a new contract by the club in April 2010, and Bolasie signed it in July after the arrival of

Peter Reid Peter Reid (born 20 June 1956) is an English football manager, pundit and former player. A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career. He built his reputation as one of England's brightest midfield tale ...

as the club's new manager.

Bristol City

Bolasie was transferred to

on 6 June 2011 for an undisclosed fee and signed a two-year contract. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win against

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

on 9 April 2012. Prior to the match against Barnsley later that month, Bolasie was named Young Player of the Year by the Supporters Club and Trust after a fans vote. He submitted a written transfer request in August 2012 because he wanted to move back to London.

Crystal Palace

In August 2012, Bolasie signed a three-year contract with

for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut in a 2–1 defeat at

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, and scored his first goal for Palace in a 5–0 home win against

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

. He was an unused substitute for Palace in the 2013 Football League Championship play-off Final as the ''Eagles'' defeated

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

1–0 to gain promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

for the 2013–14 season. Bolasie made his Premier League debut as a substitute against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...

on 5 October 2013. He was sent-off in the 78th minute of a 1–0 win at

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

on 23 November 2013, and scored his first Premier League goal in a 3–2 win over Everton at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a association football, football stadium in the Walton, Liverpool, Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area ...

on 21 September 2014. On 11 April 2015, Bolasie scored an 11-minute

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

against Sunderland in a 4–1 win at the Stadium of Light, becoming the first Crystal Palace player to score a hat-trick in the Premier League. He signed a new three-and-a-half-year deal for Crystal Palace early in the 2015–16 season.

Everton

On 15 August 2016, Bolasie joined Everton for a reported £25 million transfer fee. He made his debut as a substitute in a 2–1 win away against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

five days later, and three days after that made his first start for Everton, in a 4–0 EFL Cup win at home to

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

. Bolasie sustained an injury to his right

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...

in a 1–1 draw with Manchester United on 4 December 2016, and was out injured until 26 December 2017. On 2 October 2020, manager

Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti , (born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of La Liga club Real Madrid. Regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, Ancelotti is the most decorated manager ...

said that although Bolasie was training well, he was not in his plans and was free to leave the club. He left the club in June 2021.

Loans

Bolasie signed for Aston Villa on a season-long loan in August 2018, but returned, early, the following January, before being loaned to Belgian side Anderlecht for the remainder of the 2018–19 season. In September 2019 he joined Portuguese club

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

on loan for the 2019–20 season. On 28 January 2021, Bolasie moved to EFL Championship club

, on a loan deal until the end of the season. He scored his first goal for Middlesbrough on 5 April 2021 in a 1–1 draw with

Caykur Rizespor

In August 2021, Bolasie moved to Turkey to join

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

club

International career

Bolasie was eligible to represent France, England and DR Congo internationally through birth, upbringing and heritage respectively. In January 2013 while playing in the Championship for Crystal Palace, Bolasie rejected the chance to represent the DR Congo in the

2013 Africa Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized ...

claiming that he did not want to disrupt making progress in his club career. In March 2013, Bolasie was again called up to the Democratic Republic of Congo squad, and made his international debut in a 2014 World Cup qualification 0–0 draw with

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

. Bolasie was selected in the Congolese squad for the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was orga ...

in Equatorial Guinea. He scored the equaliser in their first group game, a 1–1 draw against Zambia at the

Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín The Estadio de Ebibeyin is the home stadium of Akonangui FC in Ebibeyin, Equatorial Guinea. In October 2014, the stadium hosted the Copa de la Primera Dama final. In November 2014, it was announced the stadium would be a venue of the 2015 Africa ...

on 18 January. The team finished in third place.

Personal life

His parents were born in

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bolasie was born in the French city of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

, but moved to England when he was seven months old and grew up in the London borough of Brent.

Lomana LuaLua Trésor Lomana LuaLua (; born 28 December 1980) is a Congolese professional footballer who last played as a striker. He is currently the attacking coach for Spalding United. LuaLua was born in Kinshasa, but moved to England at a young age. ...

Kazenga LuaLua Kazenga LuaLua (born 10 December 1990) is an English– Congolese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Greek Super League club Levadiakos. Career Newcastle United and loan spells Born in Kinshasa, LuaLua moved to England shortly ...

and

Trésor Kandol Trésor Osmar Kandol (born 30 August 1981) is a Congolese international footballer who plays as a striker for Crawley Wanderers FC. He previously played for Isthmian League Premier Division side Hampton & Richmond Borough, as well as for Ba ...

are his cousins. His younger brother Ruddock Yala is a footballer, who played for Harrow Borough, Grays Athletic,

Boreham Wood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...

and Maldon & Tiptree. Bolasie holds an active interest in

grime music Grime is a genre of electronic music that emerged in London in the early 2000s. It developed out of the earlier UK dance style UK garage, and draws influences from jungle, dancehall, and hip hop. The style is typified by rapid, syncopated brea ...

. In 2014, he filmed a

rap battle Battle rap (also known as rap battling)Edwards, Paul, 2009, p. 25. is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults and wordplay. Battle rap is often performed or freestyled spontaneously in live ...

with fellow professional footballer

Bradley Wright-Phillips Bradley Edward Wright-Phillips (born 12 March 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He began his career with Manchester City in the Premier League, before spending the remainder of his time in England in ...

for the long running grime DVD series

Lord of the Mics Lord of the Mics (also known as LOTM) is a series of recorded grime clashes, headed by Jammer and Chad ‘Ratty’ Stennett. Each edition of LOTM features grime MC's participating in recorded clashes, where they 'battle' each other over grime ins ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''DR Congo score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bolasie goal''

Honours

Crystal Palace *

Football League Championship play-offs The English Football League Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

runner-up: 2015–16 Individual * PFA Team of the Year: 2012–13 Championship

References

External links