Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, a former Russia international, acknowledges that he regrets leaving Premier League team Everton in January 2012 to join Spartak Moscow.
If there was one thing Diniyar Bilyaletdinov could have changed after an incredible career that took him from Moscow to Merseyside and back, it would have been second best to end his Everton career after just 2.5 years at Goodison Park.
In 2019, Bilyaletdinov signed a £9 million contract to play for The Toffees. At the time, quite the investment.
But when Spartak agreed to pay for the former Lokomotiv forward, the winger—who had fallen out of favor after fewer than 60 Premier League appearances—was soon returning to the Russian capital.
The now 38-year-old tells Sport24, “Over the years, I realized that I regretted moving from Everton.”
Even though Bilyaletdinov regrets the way and the time he left Everton, he still feels that working for Spartak Moscow in the capital under Unai Emery was the right move.
“I didn’t regret relocating to the club in Moscow. In terms of my career, I don’t think moving to Spartak was a mistake,” Bilyaletdinov continues. As a member of the red and white team, I was awarded a silver medal. I doubt that things would have worked out much better if I had stayed in England.
When he signed 14 years ago, Bilyaletdinov, also known as “Billy” to his teammates, became Everton’s third-most expensive signing ever. Even though the 46-year-old Russia international didn’t have many memorable moments while playing in England, he did score a spectacular goal in a 3-1 victory over Manchester United, almost sending Edwin van der Sar’s net into orbit with a thunderous long-range strike.
Along with Andrei Kanchelskis, Bilyaletdinov is one of the only two Russian players to have ever played for Everton.
Though Everton withdrew from negotiations over a £12 million deal to bring striker Fyodor Smolov to Goodison, two could have turned into three.
Scouts’ work is contingent upon their ability to communicate with the sporting director. They listened to me and trusted me at Everton. Football players from the former Soviet Union were frequently questioned about, as former Toffees talentspotter Pavel Kucherov told FanDay.
“I recall that when Smolov was a player for Krasnodar, they showed interest in him. However, I stated that we wouldn’t be a good fit for this player’s profile.
In addition, it is difficult for a player to leave Russian teams. because their goal is to collect two or even three times the player’s actual cost.
