Idrissa Gana Gueye Extends Everton Stay: When Players Become Fans

In the modern game, a player can kiss a badge after scoring a goal and fans will instantly insist ‘he gets it’. Supporters will convince themselves that their star man loves the club as much as they do, knows every terrace chant word-for-word and refuses to have anything red in his house. Sadly though, in most cases, the assumption will be wide of the mark.

While players can certainly enjoy their time at a club, for many it’s a job, the stadium is a workplace and they’ll be off without much persuasion when a better offer comes along. However, for some, they really do take the team to their heart and over time, they become a fan themselves.

When it comes to the Toffees, Idrissa Gana Gueye doesn’t just "get" Everton, it’s more than that; he feels it.

The Senegal international has just put pen-to-paper on a new one-year deal and one senses he is a genuine Blue at heart. Upon signing his contract extension, Gueye insisted: "This club is more than just a place I play, it’s part of who I am."

It’s a quote Evertonians can certainly resonate with because, when you support the Blues, as the years and decades roll by, it does become a part of you. It’s in your mind, it’s in your soul and it never leaves.

With Gueye, it seems he feels the same pull and the same sense of belonging as the people who sit in the stands every week.

Signing for the club in a £7million deal from Aston Villa in the summer of 2016, the marauding midfielder set about impressing the Goodison faithful with a series of fine displays which saw him consistenly finish top of the Premier League tackling charts. Kicking anything that moved, Gueye was expert at winning the ball back and getting Everton going again.

Early on, the phrase, "71 percent of the earth is covered by water, the rest is covered by Idrissa Gana Gueye", proved that his eagerness to run across every blade of grass for the Toffees cause had certainly been noticed by the fanbase.

The midfielder had the adulation of the crowd and was admired for his spirited performances during his first three years at the club. However, in an unusual way, the respect people had for Gueye perhaps increased somewhat, due to the manner in which he carried himself when he moved on to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2019.

In the era of social media and round the clock news, plenty of players will use the media to vocally push for a switch. Gueye though, he never did that. PSG presented a massive opportunity to win league titles and play in the Champions League but not once did the player head for a microphone to insult Everton and get a transfer.

Gueye was classy and kept everything in-house and so, when the time came to seal a switch to the French capital, he moved with the best wishes of the Everton fanbase. Playing in Europe, supporters were pleased for Gueye and glad to see him doing so well.

Spending three years at the Parc des Princes, the midfielder played 33 games in all competitions during his final season and still had a lot to give but when the time came to move on in 2022, there was only one team he was going to join.

“I told PSG if I am going to leave, it will be for one team - and that was Everton.

"Coming back here was important to me because I feel like I'm in my home. I've followed the team every week and watched how they play. For me, there is no better place than Everton, so that's why I chose to come back here.

“I felt very, very good when I was here [the first time] and even when I went to Paris, I kept in touch with some of the players and continued to support the team.”

Evertonians were delighted when he returned and it was down to the fact he had maintained and nurtured his relationship with the club and fanbase even though he was 500 miles away and had been wearing another team’s shirt.

Watching from afar, he still took a keen interest, tuning in at every chance.

After the Toffees beat Liverpool at Anfield in 2021, Gueye took to social media and buzzed: ‘Well done lads, Everton! The Town is blue.’

Eighteen months later, he was still hooked, sitting down with Kylian Mbappe to watch his former team battle relegation. There is no doubt he was just as nervous as the fans watching inside Goodison and around the world before Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s diving header completed a famous comeback win over Crystal Palace and confirmed Premier League safety. He even took some gentle ribbing from Lionel Messi, who teased him about the Toffees being so poor that season. Like any true supporter though, he didn’t care what others said because Everton was his club.

Respect goes a long way in football and Gueye has always talked with such sincerity and feeling for the Blues. Some players may drop soundbites about their love for a team but with this guy, it’s genuine. He’s built a rapport with the fanbase and there is a mutual feeling of adoration.

All fans think their club is special but with Everton, something genuinely grabs hold of players and never lets go. Once it touches you, nothing will be the same.

Alan Ball felt it as he headed back to the centre circle after scoring against Liverpool at Goodison Park. “I remember thinking, ‘I just love this place. I want this place forever’,” he said.

Duncan Ferguson also felt it soon after joining on loan from Rangers as he headed home the winner in the Merseyside derby under the lights.

In recent times, Jordan Pickford, Richarlison and Seamus Coleman are among a long list of players who have all felt it too.

Idrissa Gana Gueye is part of Everton for another year at least. For a long while longer though, Everton will be part of Idrissa Gana Gueye.

An Everton season ticket holder and football writer, you can subscribe to all of Ell Bretland's work at https://ellbretland.substack.com