Newly-promoted Brazilian side Criciúma have announced the signing of Yannick Bolasie on a free transfer.
The journeyman will play in the first division of Brazil, where the likes of Pele, Garrincha and Neymar have all plied their trade.
Having started his career with non-league Hillingdon Borough, Bolasie’s most successful period has no doubt at Crystal Palace, where he played the most football throughout a career that has taken in 15 clubs, over a period of just under 20 years.
The DR Congo international joined Palace all the way back in 2012, after spending just one year at Bristol City, where he was named young player of the year. According to an article by BBC Sport, Bolasie wanted to leave Bristol City as he wanted a move back to London.
Then come Crystal Palace, who signed Bolasie for an undisclosed fee while in the Championship.
Palace had finished 17th the season before, however managed to push themselves into the play-offs during Bolasie’s first season at the club. He made 43 appearances in the league, and two in the play-offs, coming on in Palace’s famous win at Brighton in the semi-finals. Palace would be promoted to the Premier League after beating Watford 1-0 in the play-off final.
Bolasie played 90 times for Crystal Palace in the Premier League, scoring nine goals and getting 19 assists in the three years.
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Perhaps Bolasie’s finest moment in his career came on April 11, 2015, at the Stadium of Light.
Sitting in 11th place, Crystal Palace travelled to relegation-threatened Sunderland in the Premier League. Palace took an early second half lead through Glenn Murray, before Bolasie scored an 11-minute hat-trick to give Palace a 4-0 lead.
The game would end 4-1 to the away side, with Bolasie becoming the first player to score a Premier League hat-trick for Crystal Palace, and still remains the only man to do so to this day.
Bolasie moved to Everton, after four seasons at Palace, for a reported £25 million. But his career never hit the heights that he enjoyed at Palace, with him only making another 29 Premier League appearances, before moves to Belgium, Portugal, Turkey, and now Brazil.
He has played 50 times for his country and scored nine goals, however he has not played for DR Congo since 2022.
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