Idrissa Gana Gueye was born on 26 September 1989 in Dakar, Senegal. He came through Diambars before joining Lille, where he was shaped by one of France's strongest development structures and became a Ligue 1 midfielder known for discipline and ball-winning.
At Lille he won the 2010-11 Ligue 1 title and Coupe de France, then moved to Aston Villa in 2015. Everton signed him a year later, and his Premier League ball-winning numbers made him one of Europe's most productive defensive midfielders. Paris Saint-Germain brought him back to France in 2019, where he won domestic titles and played Champions League football.
He returned to Everton in 2022 and remained a senior figure into the 2026 cycle, bringing experience, defensive reading and leadership to a club frequently under pressure. His durability has been one of the defining traits of his late career.
For Senegal he debuted in 2011 and became a pillar of the national team. He played in multiple AFCON tournaments, the 2018 World Cup, the 2022 World Cup, and was central to the 2021 AFCON triumph, giving Senegal the midfield platform behind Mané, Sarr and the attacking group.
Standing around 1.74 m, Gueye is a right-footed defensive midfielder whose tackling, interceptions and ability to press repeatedly invite comparisons with N'Golo Kanté. He is less of a ball-carrier than Kanté, but for Senegal his reliability and defensive range have made him one of the country's great modern midfielders.