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Idrissa Gueye
Idrissa Gueye (cropped).jpg
Gueye warming up for Senegal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Date of birth (1989-09-26) 26 September 1989 (age 34)
Place of birth Dakar, Senegal
Height 1.74 m
Playing position Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club Everton
Number 27
Youth career
Diambars
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Diambars
2008–2010 Lille B 55 (2)
2010–2015 Lille 134 (5)
2015–2016 Aston Villa 35 (0)
2016–2019 Everton 99 (3)
2019–2022 Paris Saint-Germain 74 (6)
2022– Everton 46 (1)
National team
2012 Senegal Olympic 1 (0)
2011– Senegal 107 (7)
Honours
Men's football
Representing  Senegal
Africa Cup of Nations
Winner 2021 Cameroon
Runner-up 2019 Egypt
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:14, 10 December 2023 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:48, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

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 2015, 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 2019, Gueye returned to France by signing for the reigning Ligue 1 champions, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). He reached the 2020 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 2019 final, he helped his country win the following competition's final in 2022. He is Senegal's record cap holder and the first Senegalese player to reach over 100 caps.

Club career

Early career

Krasnodar-Lille (7)
Gueye lining up for Lille in 2014

Born in Dakar, 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, and started in the 2011 Coupe de France Final win over Paris Saint-Germain. He became a regular starter in the league and the UEFA Champions League over the following four seasons. 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, while his first league goal came on 5 October 2013 in a 3–0 win over Ajaccio at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy. He was sent off on 21 April 2012 in a 2–0 win at Dijon.

Aston Villa

On 10 July 2015, Gueye joined English Premier League club Aston Villa for a £9 million transfer fee. On 8 August, he made his debut in a 1–0 away victory over AFC Bournemouth. On 19 January 2016, 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. In total, Gueye made 35 league appearances for Villa as the club was relegated from the Premier League at the end of the season.

Everton

On 2 August 2016 and with Aston Villa relegated from the Premier League, Everton triggered a release clause in Gueye's contract, reported to be £7.1 million, and signed him to a four-year contract. He made the highest number of successful tackles and interceptions per match across Europe's top five leagues over the 2016 calendar year. Gueye scored his first league goal for Everton in a 2–0 victory over Sunderland at Goodison Park on 25 February 2017. He became the first player in Europe's top five leagues to win 100 tackles in the 2016–17 season.

Gueye scored his first goal for Everton in European competition on 17 August 2017 in the UEFA Europa League play-off round first leg against Hajduk Split. He was sent off on 22 October in a 5–2 home loss to Arsenal. In February 2018, he extended his contract with Everton until 2022.

In January 2019, Everton rejected an offer from French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for Gueye. 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 2018–19 season along with Lucas Digne.

Paris Saint-Germain

Idrissa Gueye - Lens v PSG (10-09-2020)
Gueye lining up for Paris Saint-Germain in 2020

On 30 July 2019, Gueye signed for Ligue 1 club PSG for a fee of £30 million. He made his debut on 25 August in a 4–0 victory over Toulouse. On 18 September, he produced a "brilliant" display in a 3–0 win over Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. His first goal for PSG came in a 4–0 win against Angers on 5 October. 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. In his second season, the club won the Coupe de France and made the semi-finals of the Champions League, losing to Manchester City.

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 2021, Gueye made his return to European football in a 2–0 win over the same opponent on 28 September 2021. He scored the opening goal of the match, his first goal in the Champions League, and was given the Player of the Match award.

Return to Everton

Gueye began talks to return to Everton in early August 2022. He signed a two-year contract with the club on 1 September 2022 for a reported fee of £2 million.

International career

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. 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. He was selected for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015, and 2017.

On 9 June 2017, Gueye scored his first international goal to conclude a 3–0 win over Equatorial Guinea in 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification. He was named in Senegal's 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. At the 2019 African finals in Egypt, he scored the only goal of the quarter-final win over Benin for the finalists. Senegal won the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, with Gueye scoring in a 3–1 semi-final win over Burkina Faso.

On 11 November 2022, he was named in the 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. 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.

On 24 March 2023, 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.

Style of play

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 2016–17 Premier League season.

Personal life

Gueye is married to Pauline, with whom he has two sons. He is a practising Muslim and has made the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. In May 2022, he held a charity dinner to raise €2 million in funds for African children affected by cancer and HIV/AIDS.

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 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Lille B 2008–09 CFA 24 1 24 1
2009–10 CFA 24 1 24 1
2010–11 CFA 7 0 7 0
Total 55 2 55 2
Lille 2009–10 Ligue 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2010–11 Ligue 1 11 0 1 0 0 0 6 1 18 1
2011–12 Ligue 1 25 0 3 0 2 0 3 0 1 0 34 0
2012–13 Ligue 1 29 0 2 0 2 0 5 0 38 0
2013–14 Ligue 1 37 1 3 0 1 0 41 1
2014–15 Ligue 1 32 4 2 0 0 0 10 0 44 4
Total 134 5 12 0 5 0 24 1 1 0 176 6
Aston Villa 2015–16 Premier League 35 0 3 1 0 0 38 1
Everton 2016–17 Premier League 33 1 0 0 2 0 35 1
2017–18 Premier League 33 2 0 0 0 0 5 1 38 3
2018–19 Premier League 33 0 2 0 0 0 35 0
Total 99 3 2 0 2 0 5 1 108 4
Paris Saint-Germain 2019–20 Ligue 1 20 1 5 0 2 0 7 0 0 0 34 1
2020–21 Ligue 1 28 2 6 0 10 0 0 0 44 2
2021–22 Ligue 1 26 3 0 0 7 1 0 0 33 4
Total 74 6 11 0 2 0 24 1 0 0 111 7
Everton 2022–23 Premier League 33 0 1 0 0 0 34 0
2023–24 Premier League 13 1 0 0 3 0 16 1
Total 46 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 50 1
Career total 442 17 29 1 12 0 53 3 1 0 537 21

International

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
2015 11 0
2016 7 0
2017 14 1
2018 8 1
2019 11 2
2020 1 0
2021 10 2
2022 15 1
2023 8 0
Total 107 7
Scores and results list Senegal's goal tally first.
List of international goals scored by Idrissa Gueye
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 10 June 2017 Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar, Senegal  Equatorial Guinea 3–0 3–0 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2 13 October 2018 Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar, Senegal  Sudan 2–0 3–0 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
3 16 June 2019 Ismailia Stadium, Ismailia, Egypt  Nigeria 1–0 1–0 Friendly
4 10 July 2019 30 June Stadium, Cairo, Egypt  Benin 1–0 1–0 2019 Africa Cup of Nations
5 8 June 2021 Stade Lat-Dior, Thiès, Senegal  Cape Verde 1–0 2–0 Friendly
6 9 October 2021 Stade Lat-Dior, Thiès, Senegal  Namibia 1–0 4–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 2 February 2022 Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, Yaoundé, Cameroon  Burkina Faso 2–0 3–1 2021 Africa Cup of Nations

Honours

Lille

Paris Saint-Germain

Senegal

Individual

Orders

  • Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion: 2022

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Idrissa Gueye para niños

  • List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
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