It’s fair to say the story of Yannick Bolasie at Everton is a sad, disappointing one which saw promise and excitement ruined by injury.

But there is some good news at the end of the tale, as it seems he’s back to his old self in Brazil and seemingly earning the ire of referees as a result.

For those that don’t know, Bolasie joined Everton in a €28.9m deal in August 2016 after several years as the star of the show at Crystal Palace.

Star of the show is an apt term for his time at the club, where he not only established himself as a key player but became a firm fan favourite thanks to his love of skills, tricks and generally taking the mick out of poor defenders on a regular basis. He didn’t get to show any of that at Everton, though, with a cruciate ligament tear suffered early on in his time at Goodison Park seeing him spend 370 days on the treatment table and 63 games out of action for club and country.

 

Bolasie never fully recovered from that and ultimately only managed 32 games for the Toffees before eventually being loaned out and released.

Aged 34 he now finds himself in Brazil with Criciúma Esporte Clube and is very much enjoying life, managing two goals and an assist in four games since arriving on a free transfer last month.

He’s embraced the Samba lifestyle to the full, particularly on the pitch, where it seems he’s brought back that old flair, something Everton sadly missed out on. That, though, has not gone down well with one particular official.

“The referee said not to do that (the nonsense) anymore,” he told CNN Brazil.

“He was the one who asked me not to do it. I’ve never seen this in my life. But you know, then you take it as advice, because I’m in Brazil, a different state. After the game, he told me that he played FIFA with me. So, that was funny.”