Everton player was unexpectedly told he had to leave on loan because his salary was ‘so high’

Speaking about leaving Everton and the treatment he received from former Blues manager and current Fulham manager Marco Silva, Kevin Mirallas has shared his thoughts.

During his seven years at Everton, the former Belgian international played 186 games, contributing 33 assists and 38 goals.

The winger talked about his departure and the treatment he got at the end of his Everton career in an interview with DH Net.
According to Mirallas, Marco Silva told him about his plans and even gave him credit for his training efforts.

“First of all, you should be aware that Fiorentina was already considering me before I travelled to Olympiacos,” he stated. However, I had already agreed.

“The 2017–18 season is about to end. Even though I was on vacation, Fiorentina was still in contact. The new Everton coach Marcos Silva said to me, “Listen, you’re going to work with us on preparation and then we’ll see.”I had chosen to play the preseason with Everton before deciding on my future, so it didn’t affect me in any way. Either I finished my time at Everton or I carried on because I still had two years left on my contract.

Then he gave an account of his preseason experience with Everton, describing how he played well and appeared in “everything.”

But when the team arrived back at Goodison Park, Mirallas was told that Silva had decided not to include him in his plans, citing pay as the primary concern.

With a weekly salary of £70,000, Mirallas was reportedly the fourth highest earner at the Toffees. At that point, the only players making more money than the Belgian were Romelu Lukaku, Yannick Bolasie, and Morgan Schneiderlin.

“The preseason went extremely well; I played every position,” he remarked. Additionally, the coach informed me a week prior to the championship game that I would not be starting and that I was unsure of my spot. which I didn’t find to be an issue.

Except that he called me again the following day to inform me that it would be difficult because of my high salary and that it would be best if I took out a loan. Fiorentina was then used to activate it after that.

After being loaned out to Olympiacos and Fiorentina in 2018, Mirallas joined Royal Antwerp on a free transfer when his contract expired in 2019.