Idrissa Gana Gueye Leaves Everton After Seven Seasons

Idrissa Gana Gueye’s Everton story is over. No fanfare, no drawn-out saga. Just a clear line in the sand: no new contract, and a quietly seismic departure from a club he has come to define in midfield.

Everton confirmed that the 36-year-old has left after his deal expired at the end of June, bringing to a close seven seasons of what the club themselves called “top-quality service” across two spells. Talks with the hierarchy in recent weeks led to a firm decision. Gueye will “pursue a new challenge elsewhere,” and that challenge is expected to be in the Saudi Pro League with Al Diriyah.

For Everton, this is more than a routine end-of-contract announcement. Gueye has been a constant presence across turbulent years, a metronome in chaos. Across his 236 appearances for the club, the Senegal international gave Everton exactly what they so often lacked elsewhere on the pitch: reliability.

He first arrived from Aston Villa in August 2016, an under-the-radar signing who quickly became one of the Premier League’s most effective ball-winners. Then came the move to Paris Saint-Germain, three years at the top end of European competition, before a return to Merseyside in August 2022 to help steady a listing ship.

That second spell was never about romance alone. Everton needed experience, resilience, and a voice in the dressing room. Gueye brought all three.

Manager David Moyes underlined just how central he had become, on and off the pitch. “Everyone at Everton is hugely grateful for Gana’s dedication, professionalism, and influence on the pitch throughout his two spells at the club,” he said, highlighting the midfielder’s leadership in a period when the club’s margin for error all but vanished.

“His leadership qualities in and around the dressing room proved crucial, particularly in our final season at Goodison. His commitment to the club over many years was exceptional. Everyone connected to Everton thanks Gana – he will always be welcome at the club – and we wish him and his family all the very best for the future.”

Those words are not just polite parting lines. In that final Goodison season, when tension gripped the stands and every point felt like a rescue mission, Gueye’s presence carried weight. He read danger, plugged gaps, and set a standard for intensity that younger teammates had to match.

Now, at 36, he walks away with his legacy secure and one more move on the horizon. Al Diriyah is expected to be the next stop, a late-career switch that reflects both his enduring fitness and the financial pull of the Saudi Pro League.

For Everton, the decision to let him go signals another step into a new era, without one of their most dependable figures of the last decade. For Gueye, it is the end of a long, committed relationship with a club that helped shape his career – and one that, in Moyes’ words, will always leave the door open for him.