Verschaeren: 'It was better for both parties to go our separate ways'
SUNDAY, 4 OCTOBER 2026, 14:14 - lajoya
INTERVIEWS He seemed destined to leave Anderlecht through the front door, but in the end Yari Verschaeren slipped out the back. In Het Nieuwsblad, the now 25-year-old Verschaeren looks back this weekend on his departure from Anderlecht. “At the beginning, I was a hype. After that, things didn't go as hoped, partly because of injuries.” Verschaeren admits that all of us expected more from him when he made his debut in 2018.
Where did it go wrong? “There were those injuries, I could have done better myself, the club could have shown more trust at certain moments, …” he reflects. The instability of recent years also worked against him. Verschaeren worked under 13 head coaches. “Every time, there was an adjustment period, tactically too. And not every coach put me in my best position.” Verschaeren says his best role is as a playmaker, but several coaches deployed him on the wing, and Besnik Hasi even tried him as a holding midfielder.
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Continue reading According to Verschaeren, his best period was under Brian Riemer. “He brought out the best in me,” he says. But then he tore his cruciate ligament. “Otherwise I might have been able to make a nice transfer. There was interest from Spain.” “I didn't want Turkey” In the summer of 2025, a year before Verschaeren's contract expired, both he and Anderlecht came to believe that the time had come for a move. “There was an offer to extend, but that was more out of politeness,” Verschaeren says.
He would have had to take a significant pay cut, with Het Nieuwsblad reporting that his salary would have been halved, though Verschaeren declined to discuss figures. “Having to give in financially wasn't the issue. But I felt the club no longer counted on me. That hurt.” Because Verschaeren still wanted to bring Anderlecht in some money, a transfer seemed the best solution. He was hoping for a mid-table club in one of Europe's top five leagues, but the only offer that came was from Turkey. “But I didn't want to go to Turkey.”
So, in early August, Verschaeren signed for Sampdoria, a club with a rich history, but one currently playing in Serie B. He is now a regular starter there and has already provided an assist. “I still believe I have the qualities for the top level,” he says confidently. “Somewhere along the way, it stalled. But it's not over. The footballer Yari Verschaeren is not dead. I still have the talent to do something special.”
