Yannick Bolasie (born 24 May 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Chapecoense.
He has played in the English football pyramid for Plymouth Argyle, Barnet, Bristol City, Crystal Palace, Everton, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Swansea City.
Born in France and raised in England, he earned 50 caps for the DR Congo national team between 2013 and 2022.
Club career Early career Bolasie began his career with Rushden & Diamonds 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 in the Maltese Premier League."Yannick Bolasie" Rushden & Diamonds; Retrieved 10 August 2010 He returned to England in 2008 after being offered a trial with Plymouth Argyle and impressed enough to be offered a two-year contract."Teenager Bolasie opts for Argyle" BBC Sport, 17 July 2008; Retrieved 10 August 2010 He joined Dagenham & Redbridge on trial with a view to a loan move"Bolasie back from Daggers trial" BBC Sport, 30 September 2008; Retrieved 10 August 2010 before returning to Rushden & Diamonds on loan near the end of the year."Rushden sign Plymouth midfielder" BBC Sport, 21 November 2008; Retrieved 10 August 2010 He made his debut against Eastbourne Borough on 29 November,"Rushden 2–0 Eastbourne" BBC Sport, 22 November 2008; Retrieved 10 August 2010 and made seven appearances in the Conference before returning to Argyle in January 2009. Bolasie then joined Barnet on loan,"Bolasie makes Barnet loan switch" BBC Sport, 22 January 2009; Retrieved 10 August 2010 making his Football League debut against Accrington Stanley on 24 January 2009."Accrington 1–1 Barnet" BBC Sport, 23 January 2009; Retrieved 10 August 2010 He scored his first goal two weeks later, opening the scoring in a 3–3 draw against Grimsby Town."Barnet 3–3 Grimsby" BBC Sport, 10 February 2009; Retrieved 10 August 2010
Bolasie returned to Argyle at the end of the 2008–09 season having made 20 league appearances for Barnet, scoring three goals. Soccerbase; Retrieved 10 August 2010 The club's manager, Ian Hendon, 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.""Hendon keen to keep trio" Sky Sports, 14 April 2009; Retrieved 10 August 2010 He rejoined the Barnet squad in July 2009 ahead of the new season on a six-month loan,"Benefit time" Plymouth Argyle; Retrieved 10 August 2010 and hoped it would act as a springboard to winning a place in the Argyle first team."Bolasie eyes Pilgrims future" Sky Sports, 12 August 2009; Retrieved 10 August 2010 Bolasie scored against Grimsby again in October 2009, capping a fine display with a fierce shot from 30 yards"Barnet 3–0 Grimsby" BBC Sport, 3 October 2009; Retrieved 10 August 2010 Bolasie scored his second goal of the season three weeks later against Darlington,"Barnet 3–0 Darlington" BBC Sport, 24 October 2009; Retrieved 10 August 2010 as Hendon's side maintained a place in the top half of the League Two table."2009–10 Barnet season" Statto.com (Statto Organisation Limited) Retrieved 10 August 2010
Plymouth Argyle
Bolasie returned to Plymouth Argyle in January 2010,"Bees Bolasie returns to Plymouth" BBC Sport, 8 January 2010; Retrieved 10 August 2010 having made a further 22 league appearances for Barnet, scoring twice."Barnet 2009/2010 player appearances" Soccerbase; Retrieved 10 August 2010 He was given a chance to impress by Paul Mariner, who had succeeded Sturrock a month earlier, and included him in the squad to take on Barnsley on 13 February 2010. This is Cornwall (Local World), 16 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."Barnsley 1–3 Plymouth" BBC Sport, 13 February 2010; Retrieved 13 February 2010 He scored his first goal for the club two weeks later at Sheffield United."Sheff Utd 4–3 Plymouth" BBC Sport, 27 February 2010; Retrieved 27 February 2010 The pacy winger, This is Cornwall (Local World), 14 August 2009; Retrieved 1 April 2013 ended the season with 16 Championship appearances to his name,"Plymouth 2009/2010 player appearances" Soccerbase; Retrieved 10 August 2010 but could not prevent the club from being relegated to League One. Bolasie was offered a new contract by the club in April 2010,"Bolasie keen on new deal" Sky Sports; 26 April 2010; Retrieved 10 August 2010 and Bolasie signed it in July after the arrival of Peter Reid as the club's new manager."Bolasie signs new deal at Argyle" BBC Sport, 30 June 2010; Retrieved 10 August 2010
Bristol City Bolasie was transferred to Bristol City 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 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 Crystal Palace for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut in a 2–1 defeat at Middlesbrough, and scored his first goal for Palace in a 5–0 home win against Ipswich Town. He was an unused substitute for Palace in the 2013 Football League Championship play-off final as the Eagles defeated Watford 1–0 to gain promotion to the Premier League for the 2013–14 season.
Bolasie made his Premier League debut as a substitute against Liverpool at Anfield on 5 October 2013. He was sent-off in the 78th minute of a 1–0 win at Hull City on 23 November 2013, and scored his first Premier League goal in a 3–2 win over Everton at Goodison Park on 21 September 2014. On 11 April 2015, Bolasie scored an 11-minute hat-trick 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. While at Crystal Palace, Bolasie was represented by John Sorzano.
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 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. Bolasie sustained an injury to his right anterior cruciate ligament 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 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 on loan for the 2019–20 season. On 28 January 2021, Bolasie moved to EFL Championship club Middlesbrough, 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 Watford.
Caykur Rizespor In August 2021, Bolasie moved to Turkey to join Süper Lig club Çaykur Rizespor. In his 53 games for the club, Bolasie scored 19 goals, with him finishing third in the top scorer race in the 2022–23 TFF First League, which helped Rizespor back into the Süper Lig immediately after their relegation.
Swansea City On 27 November 2023, Bolasie signed a short-term contract with EFL Championship club Swansea City. Though head coach Luke Williams appeared keen to retain Bolasie, they were unable to agree on a contract extension. He departed the club on 29 January 2024, having not scored any goals for the club.
Brazil
In March 2024, Bolasie joined Brazilian club Criciúma. Through July, he scored two goals and provided two assists in thirteen matches. On 27 December 2024, after a successful stint at Criciúma, it was announced that Bolasie would play for Cruzeiro in the 2025 season. On 11 January 2026, he signed a one-year contract with recently promoted Série A side Chapecoense.
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 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.
Bolasie was selected in the Congolese squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea. He scored the equaliser in their first group game, a 1–1 draw against Zambia at the Estadio de Ebibeyin on 18 January. The team finished in third place.
Personal life His parents were born in Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bolasie was born in the French city of Lyon, but moved to England when he was seven months old and grew up in the London borough of Brent. Lomana LuaLua, Kazenga LuaLua and Trésor Kandol are his cousins. His younger brother Ruddock Yala is a footballer, who played for Harrow Borough, Grays Athletic, Boreham Wood and Maldon & Tiptree.
Bolasie holds an active interest in grime music. In 2014, he filmed a rap battle with fellow professional footballer Bradley Wright-Phillips for the long running grime DVD series Lord of the Mics.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsHillingdon Borough2006–07Southern League5000——50Floriana2007–08Maltese Premier League24400——244Plymouth Argyle2008–09Championship000000—002009–101610000—1612010–11League One35710002Appearances in Football League Trophy0387Total518100020548Rushden & Diamonds (loan)2008–09Conference Premier7000—3Appearances in FA Trophy0100Barnet (loan)2008–09League Two2030000002032009–10222301020282Total425301020485Bristol City2011–12Championship2311000—2412012–13000010—10Total2311010—251Crystal Palace2012–13Championship43320002Appearances in Championship play-offs04732013–14Premier League2901000—3002014–153441000—3542015–162654110—3162016–17100000—10Total1331281102014413Everton2016–17Premier League1310020—1512017–181611000—171Total2921020—322Aston Villa (loan)2018–19Championship2120000—212Anderlecht (loan)2018–19Belgian Pro League17600—00176Sporting CP (loan)2019–20Primeira Liga141103071252Middlesbrough (loan)2020–21Championship153———153Çaykur Rizespor2021–22Süper Lig27200——2722022–23TFF First League261721——2818Total531921——5520Swansea City2023–24Championship1002000—120Criciúma2024Série A34820——368Cruzeiro2025Série A18020—134334Chapecoense2026Série A20121—60282Career total516722538035558480
International
+ International statisticsNational teamYearAppsGoalsDR Congo2013302014622015154201672201700201841201970202020202140202220Total509
DR Congo score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bolasie goal