Diniyar Bilyaletdinov Profile

Born:	27/02/1985
Nationality:	Russian
Height:	1.85m
Weight:	79kg
Birthplace:	Moscow, Russia
Position:	Midfielder

Sponsored by

Chris Renshaw Consulting

Russian international Diniyar joined Everton from Lokomotiv Moscow for an undisclosed fee in August 2009.

The midfielder, who arrived aged 24, broke into Lokomotiv's first team in 2004, quickly forging a reputation for his direct running style and the leadership skills which would later be rewarded with the captain's armband.

The tall left-footer helped Lokomotiv to only their second Russian title in his debut season, earning the Russian Premier League's Young Player of the Year accolade.

Bilyaletdinov has also developed into a regular for the Russian national team since making his debut aged 20 and featured in every game of their memorable run to the semi-finals of Euro 2008, where they lost to eventual winners Spain.

Before that he played in 10 of Russia's 12 qualifying matches for the tournament, including two games against England. The first, at Wembley was won 3-0 by England for whom Phil Neville was a late substitute.

Dinyar's father, Rinat, was also a professional player with Lokomotiv Moscow and is now the club's reserve-team coach.

Billy, as he is know to his teammates, settled in quickly and had contributed four goals and several assists before Christmas.

Diniyar is sponsored for the 2009/10 season by Chris Renshaw Consulting.