Idrissa Gana Gueye Leaves Everton After Seven Seasons

Everton have drawn a firm line under one of the most enduring stories of their modern era, confirming that Idrissa Gana Gueye has left the club after his contract expired at the end of June.

No new deal. No late twist. Just a clean break for a midfielder who spent years doing the dirty work.

At 36, Gueye has decided, after talks with the club in recent weeks, to “pursue a new challenge elsewhere.” That next step is expected to be a move to Saudi Pro League side Al Diriyah, a very different stage for a player whose name became synonymous with graft, interceptions and an unshakeable engine in royal blue.

A heartbeat in midfield

Across two spells, Gueye made 236 appearances for Everton, a figure that underlines how central he became to multiple managers and multiple rebuilds. He first arrived from Aston Villa in August 2016, quickly turning into one of the Premier League’s most effective ball-winners. Then came the move to Paris Saint-Germain, three years in the Champions League spotlight, before a return to Merseyside in August 2022.

He walked back into a club under strain and again became a reference point. When Everton’s margins were thin, his work without the ball often kept them alive.

David Moyes, now back in the Goodison dugout, made a point of highlighting exactly that as the club announced Gueye’s departure.

“Everyone at Everton is hugely grateful for Gana’s dedication, professionalism, and influence on the pitch throughout his two spells at the club,” the manager said. He picked out the midfielder’s impact beyond the 90 minutes, adding: “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.”

The message from the club was clear: this is not a routine contract expiry. It is the closing of a relationship built on trust and tireless running.

From Goodison to a new frontier

Gueye leaves as a Senegal international with a decorated CV and the respect of every dressing room he has walked into. At Everton, he was rarely the headline act, but often the reason others could perform. The tackle before the counter. The cover run nobody saw on the highlights.

Now, the expectation is that he will take that experience to Al Diriyah, swapping the intensity of Goodison’s final Premier League battles for the growing spectacle of the Saudi Pro League. A different rhythm, a different pressure, but the same player who carved out a career by doing the unglamorous things better than almost anyone else on the pitch.

Everton, for their part, move on without a familiar anchor in midfield. Gueye, as Moyes stressed, “will always be welcome at the club,” but the relationship now shifts from present tense to past.

Seven seasons of top-quality service, as the club described it. One of the quiet constants in a turbulent era.

The next chapter belongs to Gueye. The gap he leaves behind belongs to Everton to solve.