The long-awaited signing by Criciúma upon their return to the top division in Brazil has become a reality. Congolese winger Yannick Bolasie signed a contract until the end of 2024.
Born in Lyon (France), he spent most of his career in various levels of English football. His most memorable spell was at Crystal Palace between 2012 and 2016, although he also had stints at Everton and Aston Villa in the Premier League.
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A recent unsuccessful experience at Swansea
At 34 years old, he comes from Swansea City in Wales, although his time at the English second division club lasted only two months as he parted ways at the end of January. Consequently, he arrived as a free agent at Criciúma, a club from the state of Santa Catarina that finished third in the last season in Serie B.
“With a contract until the end of 2024, the forward will have his first experience outside of the European continent with Tigre,” stated the southern Brazilian team in a press release. The statement specified that the winger has already visited the training center and met the rest of the squad with whom he will aim to stay in Brasileirão, a tournament that begins in mid-April.
While awaiting the start of that competition, Criciúma is playing today in the semifinals of the Campeonato Catarinense against Barra FC. Another renowned forward in the squad is the Italo-Brazilian Éder, who has a history with Sampdoria and the Italian national team.
On the international stage, Bolasie became a naturalized Congolese citizen, the home country of his parents, and represented the Democratic Republic of Congo in the Africa Cup of Nations on two occasions, in 2015 and 2019. With his national team, he scored nine goals and provided five assists in 50 matches.
Com contrato até o final de 2024, o atacante que estava no Swansea City, do País de Gales, terá no Tigre a sua primeira experiência fora do continente europeu. O atleta já está no C.T. Antenor Angeloni com o elenco em preparação para a temporada.👊🐯#Bolasie #CriciumaEc pic.twitter.com/RXj06F8Gij
— Criciúma E.C. (@CriciumaEC) March 21, 2024
