At its best, football is like cinema. An star-studded and reliably enthralling experience that grips us and leaves us wanting more. Tracking the trajectory of a player’s career can often feel like you’re watching an autobiographical film in real time. But every good movie needs a perfect ending. The type that makes us feel as though all the uncertainty that was endured was for a greater cause. Yannick Bolasie’s jinky jaunt to Brazil encapsulates this feeling to a tee.  

As far-reaching as football is – played with many distinct traditions – there is one particular type of finish to a player’s career that’s observed almost everywhere. The homecoming: the return of a much-cherished player to their boyhood club for a swansong. It’s such a popular move because it’s foolproof yet romantic. 

There’s something powerful about giving your long-time supporters everything you have left in the tank as a professional athlete. The comfort of playing in front of a crowd that you’ve already won over. Cashing in your blood, sweat and tears to enjoy the twilight of your career as a hometown hero. It’s a nice bookend in a sport that’s obsessed with sentimental endings. Football also loves the idea of ‘restoring the feeling’ - to make us feel like we once did any number of years ago when our lives were simpler. This is why homecomings in football are undefeated.

But what happens when a player has a homecoming at a club he’s never played for? What does it mean to see a 34-year-old expressing himself with a level of freedom you’d expect to see from a kid at the park? How can a player feel and look more at home in a country he’s never played in? The smile on Bolasie’s face when he plays for Brazilian Série A side Criciúma answers those questions and more.

Despite this, there is still a large section of English football that never fully appreciated his unique skill-set and what it represented. During his time here, Bolasie was occasionally the subject of ridicule and often mistaken for an overly-flamboyant maverick. After an ACL injury kept him sidelined for a year, Everton made clear he was not a part of their plans and Bolasie lived a nomadic existence.

Moving to six clubs in six years is not the kind of stability that a player needs towards the end of their career. It was clear that this was a player yearning for somewhere to call home. But when it was announced that he had agreed a deal to join Criciúma, English media covered the move with a tinge of mockery.

Little did they know, Bolasie had found his natural habitat. His arrival to the land of joga bonito at this stage of his career fits him so well because it feels like he’s been there before. He can be his unadulterated self, pull out skills he might not have tried in England and get the love and adulation he won’t have received here. 

This is his light at the end of the tunnel. This is the ending to his movie that resolves all the anxiety about where he belongs. Bolasie is proof that all ballers should go where they’re appreciated - even if they haven’t been there before. 

If you were to make a film on his playing career, this is the point where the credits would roll to the sound of Kano’s ‘Can’t Hold We Down’ as spectators stand for applause.

The beauty in this move lies in its surprising simplicity. Nobody thought Bolasie and Brazil were a perfect match until it actually happened. But the country is the Beautiful Game’s spiritual home and the place where Bolasie is enjoying a spiritual homecoming. In just his second start for Criciúma, he produced a goal, two assists and a highlight reel that will keep the streets fed for ages. Very few newcomers could ever hope to feel as welcome as he is - especially in such a unique environment. Nothing says enjoyment like posting your own comps on social media the day after a game.

To make a name for yourself as one of the most skilful players English football has ever seen only to then close out your career in the ball roll capital of the world, is a career arc that deserves a dramatised adaptation. Not just for us to indulge in how this story ends, but to acknowledge the struggle that came before it.

As a fellow north west London native, seeing all that Bolasie accomplished in England fills me with immense pride. He progressed up the leagues by being true to himself. He never diluted the youthful exuberance that people love him for. From coming through the ranks at non-league side Hillingdon Borough and Plymouth Argyle to scoring an 11-minute Premier League hat-trick for Crystal Palace to securing a £25 million transfer to Everton. On-pitch success is one thing, but it’s Bolasie’s cultural impact that resonates.