Everton star could snub new stadium with transfer to join Qatari royal who collects luxury cars

Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye could be given a huge financial incentive to snub the chance to continue with the Blues when they move to their new stadium, according to a report. The 35-year-old has played 183 matches for the Blues, scoring eight goals over two spells.

When Gueye returned to Goodison Park from Paris Saint-Germain in 2022, he penned a two-year deal with the option for a third season, which the club exercised last May after Gueye netted the winning goal against Brentford the previous month to clinch a third home victory in a week as Everton’s secured their Premier League status. The Senegal international originally joined the Blues from Aston Villa in 2016, with the club’s newly appointed first director of football Steve Walsh triggering the player’s £7.1million release clause after the West Midlands side’s relegation to the Championship.

However, Sport Witness cites Africa Foot as claiming that Qatar Stars League outfit Al-Duhail are “ready to offer Gueye a lucrative contract” to join them on a free transfer next summer. When the midfielder came back to Everton, Goodison Park chiefs made what they considered to be a very attractive offer for the player but this latest report states while the veteran still has a market to explore in Europe, Al-Duhail’s offer would be the highest salary he has ever received, and it must be remembered that this is a player who spent time alongside Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe at petrodollar-fuelled PSG.

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The Doha-based outfit are coached by Marseille-born Christophe Galtier, who was linked with Everton following Carlo Ancelotti’s exit in 2021 after steering Lille to the Ligue 1 title and was briefly Gueye’s boss in the French capital after replacing Mauricio Pochettino in July 2022 after a season in charge of Nice. Despite only being formed in 2009, Al-Duhail, have been Qatari champions on eight occasions.

The club are backed by Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, a Qatari royal, minister of the interior, and prominent collector of high-performance cars, including three Ferraris, three Bugattis, two Lamborghinis, a Porsche, McLaren and Bentley Bacalar painted alpine green. Al-Duhail’s squad currently includes a couple of former Premier League players in the shape of Liverpool old boy Luis Alberto, 32, who made a dozen appearances for the Reds in the 2013/14 campaign and Ibrahima Diallo, 25, who spent three seasons at Southampton between 2020-23.