Abdoulaye Doucoure has made it clear that he will not take a salary cut to extend his contract at Everton in a recent podcast. Doucoure’s deal is set to run out at the end of the season.
Instead of having his wages slashed, the 32-year-old midfielder believes he deserves a pay rise and that “maybe the chapter is finished” at Everton. “I don’t wait for them because my contract is finished and I have some offers on the table. In the next three weeks, I will make my decision. Everton is massive for me but maybe the chapter is finished. I would be happy, at the end of the day, if I leave the club,” he said on The Ben Foster Podcast.
Speaking with his former Watford teammate Ben Foster, Doucoure added, “It’s funny because now I hear on especially X and Instagram that Everton fans were saying: ‘We’d love Doucoure to stay but he has to lower his wages’ and I’m amazed. Why are they talking about my salary? To be honest, I deserve to have my salary right now.
“And, to be honest, I won’t reduce my salary to stay at the club because I don’t think I deserve to reduce my salary. I’m playing every season, I’m scoring important goals, I’m very important for the club. No, I should have an increase. I’m only 33 years old and think I have three, four years easily in the Premier League. For me, to reduce my salary is something I will not do. I’m sorry.
“I hear a lot of things about my salary and I’m like: ‘Guys I see Mo Salah or Van Dijk they have a pay rise because they are playing good. OK I’m not at that level, Everton is not at the level of Liverpool but I’m sorry, I’m playing every game for five years. There were a couple of players playing for Everton, I’m sorry, on an even higher salary and not playing as much but people always spoke about me.”
Signed in 2020 from Watford, Doucoure has made 169 appearances for the Toffees in nearly five years. He has scored 21 goals and has helped the club battle relegation in recent years.
He is one of 15 players, including those on loan, who are out of contract in the summer.
The club opted not to trigger the option of an additional year on his contract.