Ex-Celtic star who nearly shut down Scottish football left unemployed aged 29

HE arrived at Celtic and was instantly memorable because of his name – and his famous cousin.

But after just 31 appearances, two loan spells and a scandal that almost shut down the whole of Scottish football, he left to return to his adopted homeland of Belgium.

A £3million signing from Rapid Vienna in 2019, Boli Bolingoli was supposed to solve Neil Lennon‘s left-back problem following the departure of Kieran Tierney to Arsenal.

He had immense football talent in his bloodlines as the cousin of Romelu Lukaku and Jordan Lukaku but instead he was beaten out for the left-back spot by Greg Taylor.

His time at Celtic was spent mostly on the bench – and it was from there that he made headlines for all the wrong reasons in August 2020.

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, SunSport exclusively revealed at the time how Bolingoli had sneaked off on holiday to Spain and returned days later to take part in the Hoops’ match against Kilmarnock.

Bolingoli travelled to the Terenia Taras hotel in Marbella and was understood to have met up with a love interest.

The Scottish Government threatened to stop all football in Scotland due to the player’s breach of the guidelines.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon even explicitly called for the postponement of Celtic’s next two games.

A Holyrood spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government is aware of reports of a Celtic FC player having broken quarantine rules last week.

“We are currently in discussion with the club and football governing bodies to establish the facts.

“If confirmed as another serious incident within Scottish football, where protocols have been breached at the risk of wider public health, then the Scottish Government will have little choice but to consider whether a pause is now needed in the resumption of the game in Scotland.”

In the end, the bumbling star received a three-match ban from the SFA.

The embarrassment all but ended his Celts career and a few months later he was shipped off on loan to Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir.

He also had a loan spell at Ufa in Russia but didn’t play at all and returned to Celtic after the Russian invasion of Ukraine forced him to leave the country. 

Bolingoli left Celtic for good in 2022 and has since been with KV Mechelen in the Belgian Pro League.

He made 15 appearances in his first season and last term he played in 13 games with a hamstring injury keeping him sidelined for months.

But he was given a terrible birthday present on July 1 as he was officially released by the club.

Now 29, Bolingoli is reported to have an offer from Standard Liege, according to DH Les Sports.