Senegalese footballer (born 1989)
Idrissa Gana Gueye (born 26 September 1989) is a
Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a defensive 🍊 midfielder for Premier
League club Everton and the Senegal national team.
Starting his career at Diambars in
his native Senegal, Gueye 🍊 joined French club Lille's reserve side in 2008. He would go
on to play for the side's first team from 🍊 2010 to 2024, winning a Ligue 1 and Coupe de
France double in 2011, before moving to England with Aston 🍊 Villa. A year later, he
signed for fellow Premier League club Everton. In 2024, Gueye returned to France by
signing 🍊 for the reigning Ligue 1 champions, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). He reached the
2024 UEFA Champions League Final with the club, 🍊 but did not play in the match in which
PSG lost.
Gueye made his debut for Senegal in 2011. He was 🍊 part of the Senegalese squad
at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where he played one match. He played for Senegal at 🍊 two
FIFA World Cup and four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. After a defeat in the 2024
final, he helped 🍊 his country win the following competition's final in 2024. He is
Senegal's record cap holder and the first Senegalese player 🍊 to reach over 100
caps.
Club career [ edit ]
Early career [ edit ]
Gueye lining up for Lille in 2014
Born
in 🍊 Dakar,[2] Gueye spent his early career in Senegal at Diambars, a football academy
set up by Patrick Vieira and Bernard 🍊 Lama. He joined French club Lille in August 2008.
He broke through into the first team in the 2010–11 season, 🍊 playing 11 games as the
team won Ligue 1,[4] and started in the 2011 Coupe de France Final win over 🍊 Paris
Saint-Germain.[5] He became a regular starter in the league and the UEFA Champions
League over the following four seasons.[6] 🍊 His first goal came on 17 February 2011 in a
2–2 home draw with PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Europa 🍊 League last 32 first leg,[7] while
his first league goal came on 5 October 2013 in a 3–0 win over 🍊 Ajaccio at the Stade
Pierre-Mauroy.[8] He was sent off on 21 April 2012 in a 2–0 win at Dijon.[9]
Aston
Villa 🍊 [ edit ]
On 10 July 2024, Gueye joined English Premier League club Aston Villa
for a £9 million transfer fee.[10][11] 🍊 On 8 August, he made his debut in a 1–0 away
victory over AFC Bournemouth.[12] On 19 January 2024, Gueye 🍊 scored his first and only
goal for Villa in a 2–0 over Wycombe Wanderers in the third round replay of 🍊 the FA
Cup.[13] In total, Gueye made 35 league appearances for Villa as the club was relegated
from the Premier 🍊 League at the end of the season.[14]
Everton [ edit ]
On 2 August 2024
and with Aston Villa relegated from the 🍊 Premier League, Everton triggered a release
clause in Gueye's contract, reported to be £7.1 million,[15] and signed him to a
🍊 four-year contract.[16] He made the highest number of successful tackles and
interceptions per match across Europe's top five leagues over 🍊 the 2024 calendar
year.[17][18][19] Gueye scored his first league goal for Everton in a 2–0 victory over
Sunderland at Goodison 🍊 Park on 25 February 2024.[20] He became the first player in
Europe's top five leagues to win 100 tackles in 🍊 the 2024–17 season.[21]
Gueye scored
his first goal for Everton in European competition on 17 August 2024 in the UEFA Europa
🍊 League play-off round first leg against Hajduk Split.[22] He was sent off on 22 October
in a 5–2 home loss 🍊 to Arsenal.[23] In February 2024, he extended his contract with
Everton until 2024.[24]
In January 2024, Everton rejected an offer from 🍊 French club
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for Gueye.[25] However, the speculation regarding PSG did not
negatively impact his performances as Gueye 🍊 was awarded the club's joint Player's
Player of the Year for the 2024–19 season along with Lucas Digne.[26]
Paris
Saint-Germain [ 🍊 edit ]
Gueye lining up for Paris Saint-Germain in 2024
On 30 July 2024,
Gueye signed for Ligue 1 club PSG for 🍊 a fee of £30 million.[27][28] He made his debut
on 25 August in a 4–0 victory over Toulouse.[29] On 18 🍊 September, he produced a
"brilliant" display in a 3–0 win over Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.[30] His
first 🍊 goal for PSG came in a 4–0 win against Angers on 5 October.[31] In his first
season in Paris, Gueye 🍊 won a domestic treble and finished runner-up in the Champions
League, sitting on the bench for the loss to Bayern 🍊 Munich in the final.[32][33] In his
second season, the club won the Coupe de France and made the semi-finals of 🍊 the
Champions League, losing to Manchester City.[34][35]
After having been suspended for
two Champions League matches due to a red card 🍊 in the first leg of the semi-final
against Manchester City in April 2024,[36] Gueye made his return to European football
🍊 in a 2–0 win over the same opponent on 28 September 2024.[37] He scored the opening
goal of the match, 🍊 his first goal in the Champions League, and was given the Player of
the Match award.[38]
Return to Everton [ edit 🍊 ]
Gueye began talks to return to Everton
in early August 2024.[39] He signed a two-year contract with the club on 🍊 1 September
2024 for a reported fee of £2 million.[40][41]
On 19 December 2024, Gueye missed a
penalty for Everton in 🍊 their 2024–24 EFL Cup quarter-final defeat against Fulham.[42]
Gueye and Amadou Onana, who also missed a penalty for Everton, were 🍊 defended by manager
Sean Dyche.[43]
International career [ edit ]
Gueye made his international debut for
Senegal on 11 November 2011 as 🍊 a half-time substitute for Deme N'Diaye in a 4–1
friendly win away to neighbours Guinea.[2] He was part of the 🍊 team at the 2012
Olympics, but was injured just before the interval in the opening game against hosts
Great Britain.[44] 🍊 He was selected for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2024,[45] and
2024.[46]
On 9 June 2024, Gueye scored his first 🍊 international goal to conclude a 3–0
win over Equatorial Guinea in 2024 Africa Cup of Nations qualification.[47] He was
named 🍊 in Senegal's 23-man squad for the 2024 World Cup in Russia.[48] At the 2024
African finals in Egypt, he scored 🍊 the only goal of the quarter-final win over Benin
for the finalists.[49] Senegal won the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations 🍊 in Cameroon, with
Gueye scoring in a 3–1 semi-final win over Burkina Faso.[50]
On 11 November 2024, he
was named in 🍊 the 26-man squad for the 2024 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[51] On 29 November,
Senegal qualified to the knockout phase 🍊 after a 2–1 win over Ecuador in the last group
stage match, but Gueye received his second booking in the 🍊 tournament to be ruled out of
the round of 16.[52]
On 24 March 2024, Gueye played his 100th international match in 🍊 a
5–1 win over Mozambique during the Africa Cup of Nations qualification, to be the first
Senegalese to achieve this 🍊 feat.[53]
In December 2024, he was named in Senegal's squad
for the postponed 2024 Africa Cup of Nations, to be held 🍊 in the Ivory Coast in January
2024.[54]
Style of play [ edit ]
An energetic midfielder, known for his ball-winning
skills, as 🍊 well as his ability to press opponents and intercept passes, Gueye completed
the most tackles during the 2024–17 Premier League 🍊 season.[55]
Personal life [ edit
]
Gueye is married to Pauline, with whom he has two sons.[56] He is a practising Muslim
🍊 and has made the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.[57] In May 2024, he held a charity dinner to
raise €2 million 🍊 in funds for African children affected by cancer and
HIV/AIDS.[58][59]
He was appointed a Grand Officer of the National Order of 🍊 the Lion by
President of Senegal Macky Sall following the nation's victory at the 2024 Africa Cup
of Nations.[60]
Controversy [ 🍊 edit ]
In the 37th matchday of the 2024–22 Ligue 1
season, Gueye travelled with the PSG squad for the away 🍊 match against Montpellier.
However, he was not included in the team sheet for what manager Mauricio Pochettino
revealed to be 🍊 "personal reasons", and not an injury.[61] This brought the media
spotlight on Gueye; RMC Sport reported that he had refused 🍊 to play in the match due to
PSG's shirts featuring the rainbow flag in support of the LGBT movement, an 🍊 initiative
taken by Ligue 1 for the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia,
Transphobia and Biphobia.[62][63] He had also 🍊 notably missed the same fixture in the
previous season, with the reasoning behind his non-participation then being that he was
🍊 suffering from gastroenteritis.[64]
For his controversial absence against Montpellier,
Gueye received backlash and calls for sanctions from Rouge Direct, an organization
🍊 against homophobia,[65] and Île-de-France regional president Valérie Pécresse, among
others.[66] The French Football Federation (FFF) asked him to confirm the 🍊 reason for
his absence, in order to dispel rumours.[67]
Senegalese president Macky Sall expressed
his support for Gueye, justifying the position 🍊 by stating that Gueye's "religious
beliefs must be respected".[68] Gueye's Senegal teammates Cheikhou Kouyaté, Ismaïla
Sarr, and Nampalys Mendy, who 🍊 all play in England, also praised him for his
actions.[69][70] The hashtag #WeAreAllIdrissa, in support of Gueye, started trending
over 🍊 social media.[71]
Career statistics [ edit ]
Club [ edit ]
As of match played 23
December 2024
International [ edit ]
As of match 🍊 played 21 November 2024[2]
Appearances
and goals by national team and year National team Year Apps Goals Senegal 2011 1 0 🍊 2012
6 0 2013 8 0 2014 7 0 2024 11 0 2024 7 0 2024 14 1 2024 8 🍊 1 2024 11 2 2024 1 0 2024 10
2 2024 15 1 2024 8 0 Total 107 7
Scores and 🍊 results list Senegal's goal tally
first.[2]
Honours [ edit ]
Lille
Paris Saint-Germain
Senegal
Individual
Orders
See also
[ edit ]
