Everton winger Yannick Bolasie rejected a lucrative move to Russia to protect his family from the threat of racism.
CSKA Moscow made a concrete offer to sign Democratic Republic of Congo international Yannick Bolasie last month — but despite the possibility of earning more than his reported £75,000-a-week salary he didn’t want to consider the move.
When asked on Twitter whether he was joining the Russian side, Bolasie dismissed the idea, citing claims that Brazilian winger Malcom was racially abused by his own fans days after joining Zenit St Petersburg.
Russian football has a long history of problems with racial abuse, with Malcom the latest high- profile footballer to have complained about being targeted.
Everton, it is believed, were particularly keen on Bolasie moving to Russia because their offer represented the best financial deal. Bolasie responded by claiming the club were ‘playing with my career like Lego’.
The 30-year-old had been told he was not part of Marco Silva’s long-term plans and in the end, the club sanctioned a season-long loan deal to Sporting Lisbon, which was finalised just before Monday’s transfer deadline.
