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. 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. Controversy In the 37th matchday of the 2021–22 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. 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. 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. For his controversial absence against Montpellier, Gueye received backlash and calls for sanctions from