Mina signs off but not before ‘one last dance’

27/05/2023 50comments  |  Jump to last

Yerry Mina has posted a farewell to message to Evertonians ahead of tomorrow's clash with Bournemouth which will be his last match for the Toffees.

The Colombian is out of contract at Everton this summer when the five-year deal he signed under Marcel Brands and Marco Silva expires and the respective parties will part ways.

Mina cost the club £27m when he signed from Barcelona in the summer of 2018 but his time at Goodison Park has been blighted by injury, particularly over the past couple of years. In all, he has featured in just 44% of Everton's matches since he arrived and that lack of consistent availability, combined with his hefty £120,000-a-week salary is arguably the main reason why he has not been offered a new deal.

However, Mina, who scored what might yet prove to be a vital equaliser with almost the last kick of the game at Wolves last weekend, hopes to play a vital role in keeping the Blues in the Premier League tomorrow with one last towering performance at centre-half.

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The 29-year-old, a hugely popular presence in the dressing room and a cult hero to many fans, posted a video to Instagram thanking the fans for making his time in England so special and promising "one last dance" in the final game of the season at Goodison Park.

"This Sunday, I will play my last game for Everton Football Club," Mina said. "It's time to say goodbye after 5 years together. 

"I want to say thank you for your support and love. It has been a privilege and [an] honour to wear the shirt and represent you. 

"For this reason, I invite you all to attend this one last dance at Goodison Park for this last battle that we have to fight. We need your help and your fight because together we are going to stay in the Premier League, where this great club should always be. 

"It [will be] a special moment full of emotion and memories.  I am sure that we will make it. Come on Boys, one last push. Come on Boys, we are together. Yes, Toffees!"

 

Reader Comments (50)

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Chris Burns
1 Posted 27/05/2023 at 22:35:40
Desperate for him to play the full 90 tomorrow, genuine leader that if he’d played twice the games you feel we wouldn’t have been anywhere near this shit two seasons in a row. Go on big Yerry lad up them gorgeous Toffs
Will Mabon
2 Posted 27/05/2023 at 22:58:39
He's been the best centre-half at the club for years. A shame he's another with injury woes. Makes a difference to the team almost every time he plays.

I'm surprised at 44%, seems even less.

Tony Everan
3 Posted 27/05/2023 at 23:16:32
Come on, Yerry, give us one of those headed goals from a corner tomorrow. Bow out in style.

COYBLUES!

Mike Gaynes
4 Posted 27/05/2023 at 23:39:14
When the fans were at their angriest, the one player with the courage to step out of his car to speak with them and hear their rage was Yerry Mina.

I remember how ecstatic I was when we bought him... I had watched him for Colombia and figured that, with his talent and passion, he'd be a club mainstay for years to come.

How sad that this top-quality player, leader, man and Blue had such subpar quality leg muscles.

One final hurrah, big man, and then all the best to ya.


Kieran Kinsella
5 Posted 27/05/2023 at 23:46:02
Mike,

I was excited too based on watching Colombia. Frustrating beyond belief that injuries severely curtailed his Everton career.

Paul Hewitt
6 Posted 27/05/2023 at 23:51:41
If Mina didn't have such an injury record, he would be playing for a big club.
Paul Birmingham
7 Posted 28/05/2023 at 00:45:18
Mina, injuries aside and bad luck, is the real deal Everton had as a centre-back, and he is leaving. Who is replacing him?

If there's a simple lesson to be learned for Everton going forward, pray these lessons are learned. And on scale across the whole field.

UTFTs!

Joe Corgan
8 Posted 28/05/2023 at 01:12:47
It's not the biggest issue at the club at the moment, but I do wonder why he hasn't been offered a new deal. Or has he?

He's clearly the best defender at the club when he's fully fit. A positive influence in the dressing room and a leader on the pitch. Anyone that's spent any time in his company can see his passion for football and for his club is clear.

I understand the need to lower the wage bill and Mina's injury problems have meant he hasn't been worth his £120,000 wages. But why not offer him a 2-year extension and try to get a fee for him?

Have we even attempted to offer him a lower salary on the basis that he's just not available often enough? Or would his agent have been upfront with the club and told them that's a non-starter?

I find it difficult to understand why we'd let a £28M asset walk out the door without even attempting to recoup something, especially a player that, I think, still have a lot to offer.

Mark Taylor
9 Posted 28/05/2023 at 01:18:56
It's right to get rid. We can't afford biscuit-type players. Calvert-Lewin bis another one. Not bad when he's fit but that's not often.

Credit to Mina, I was concerned about playing him, given he was obviously off elsewhere, and doubted whether he would be fully committed given his injury record and his desire or need not to have another injury just when he seeks new pastures. But in the last few games, he's given 100%.

Do it again one more time, one last dance, then go with some gratitude. But time to go, we need a new thinking, a new mindset, no room for people who mostly can't play.

Pete Clarke
10 Posted 28/05/2023 at 02:08:15
Bit concerning when I read he's a bit of a cult hero to some because that should be reserved for the likes of Coleman-type players. You know, no bullshit but hard graft, a team player, and one who only goes off the pitch when a real injury hits and not roll around looking like he's been shot whilst trying to get an opponent sent off or looking for a way out. Cult hero? My arse!

Mina may just well be the best of our centre-backs when he's actually on the pitch but that shows how bad our recruitment and coaching has been.

Glad to see him go but hopefully he puts an important goal in for us tonight to help justify the millions he's earned from us and also keep his cult following happy.
Ernie Baywood
11 Posted 28/05/2023 at 02:17:21
Probably a great bloke.

I've never seen the appeal as a footballer. Maybe he could be a decent defender but it's all irrelevant when he can't string games together.

Had a few decent performances. Managed some shithousery that has ranged from the valuable, to the funny, to the embarrassing. But overall it's definitely good riddance from me.

Eric Myles
12 Posted 28/05/2023 at 02:31:21
Score it with a header, Yerry, silence those that say you're no good in the air.

Thanks for your service.

Don Alexander
13 Posted 28/05/2023 at 03:08:52
In a list of Everton's greatest ever centre-backs of the last 60 years, this guy is at best in modern-day Division One. Christ, he's only marginally above that other waste-of-space yet internationally-renowned centre-back, Slaven Bilic, in extracting the maximum from us for the least output.

As for his "service" – hell fire, give me a break!

Labone, Hurst, Kenyon, Lyons, McNaught, Higgins, Wright, Ratcliffe, Mountfield, Watson, Yobo, Weir, Gough and Distin must be wondering what fucking planet we're on in eulogising Yerri Mina.

Pat Kelly
14 Posted 28/05/2023 at 06:11:08
Epitomises the problems that have led us to the brink of relegation. A handful of decent games (how long did he last?) over 5 years and he's hailed as a great.

Another multi-millionaire “earner” from Moshiri's trough.

Alan J Thompson
15 Posted 28/05/2023 at 06:17:52
This leaves me wondering if any contract negotiations have been conducted or if this has been done on Mina's initiative alone as, if the idea of this announcement has come from the club, then their timing leaves a lot to be desired.

I'm all for early planning but has the club held talks at such an important time with all those out of contract this year? All hands to the pumps and two keepers on the bench… it never seems to stop.

Lee Courtliff
16 Posted 28/05/2023 at 07:02:29
I always liked him, as a man and a player. Some of his positioning when defending crosses is top-drawer stuff and he has a goal in him.

But, with his injury record and our financial state, there was no way we could keep him. I wish him luck for the future and hope he bags one today.

Phillip Mark
17 Posted 28/05/2023 at 07:43:42
Get him on a pay-as-you-play deal!
Eddie Dunn
18 Posted 28/05/2023 at 07:45:04
Yerry Mina has looked our best distributor from the back in his latest run of games.

He might be our best defender when fit, but therein lies the problem with our Yerry. Some of his antics have been shameful and embarrassing.

Imagine getting a job and only turning-up to 44% of the working week!

Jerome Shields
19 Posted 28/05/2023 at 08:02:53
Mina is the biggest charlatan that ever (did not) play for Everton, taking full advantage of Everton's dated and self-serving Medical Services. He played every international game – often having extended leave at home to recuperate with an injury sustained.

But his contribution in this current relegation dogfight means he was worth his transfer fee and every penny of his wages in his time at Everton.

Good luck to him in the future and hopefully he will find a similar Medical Services that will get him out of training.

Mike Gaynes
20 Posted 28/05/2023 at 08:04:47
Eddie, getting injured is an "antic" that is "shameful and embarrassing"??
Pete Neilson
21 Posted 28/05/2023 at 08:15:50
Since he joined us, Mina has missed, percentage-wise, as many internationals as club games. Not a charlatan, just injury-prone unfortunately.
Colin Glassar
22 Posted 28/05/2023 at 08:17:42
Mina, like so many other Everton players, has been let down by our useless medical team.

I don't know what the stats are but it seems our injured players take twice as much time to recover from “strains and knocks” than other teams. And when they do finally reappear, they break down again, quickly.

This has been going on for years now. Maybe it's just my perception but we seem to be shit getting, and keeping, players back on the pitch.

Eddie Dunn
23 Posted 28/05/2023 at 08:22:24
Mike, the "shamefull and embarrassing" is in reference to his play-acting, rolling around on the floor or holding his face, head, midriff after imaginary assaults.
Mike Connolly
24 Posted 28/05/2023 at 08:33:59
Thing with Mina is we knew what we were getting – he was injured when we bought him.
Michael Lynch
25 Posted 28/05/2023 at 08:38:01
I'll miss him, even if it's just for his hilarious “boo” in the face of Havertz.

Sadly he represents an era at Everton that is dead and gone. A contract that, over 5 years, was worth more than three times what Luton pay their entire squad per season, for a player who was fit less than half the time, is unthinkable now. That's probably a good thing, considering the money our club have burned on overpriced dross.

I'm hoping it's a new dawn for us, whatever happens today, and the most important signings will be a CEO and a board who have a clue about how to run a Premier League club – even if we are temporarily in exile in the Championship.

Alan McGuffog
26 Posted 28/05/2023 at 08:58:25
He leaves me overcome with indifference, with regards to his going. With the exception of Seamus, I don't give a bugger if any member of the squad goes.
Christine Foster
27 Posted 28/05/2023 at 09:03:33
There is something about fans that can praise one week and tell a player he is shit the next.

Mina — just for the record, I had a look at his stats which state that 57% of the matches he plays in, Everton win, while they only win 24% of the time when he doesn't! So when he plays, we are more than twice as likely to win than when he doesn't. Right now, we need winners in the team and I would rather he was playing than not.

I understand the fact he has been injury-prone, but that's not his fault – more likely poor conditioning or treatment. I hope he leaves on a great not… a last dance to remember.

Mick O'Malley
28 Posted 28/05/2023 at 09:31:48
I'll miss him, I've always loved Big Yerry, his antics and all.

He's the only defender we've got who can pass the ball and, as Christine points out, we win more with him in the side than not. Okay, he was injured a lot… but he's not alone, the much revered Calvert-Lewin the prime example, who personally I can't wait to see the back of.

Yerry popped up with a few goals as well. One thing's for sure: he's better than the other centre-halves at this club as proven by the stats.

Christopher Timmins
29 Posted 28/05/2023 at 10:08:41
Mina will go the same way as many other players at Everton, big transfer fee to bring him in, big wages during the course of his contract and no fee received on his departure. An absolute disaster!

Buy high and sell for nothing appears to be the way of things.

Peter Hodgson
30 Posted 28/05/2023 at 12:45:45
I was around and watched every week, when Brian Labone was strutting his stuff at centre half. I won't compare him and Mina except to say Mina can't hold a candle to Labone when it comes to being on the pitch and doing his job in a quiet and efficient manner.

However I am sorry to see Mina leaving as he is a character and we are short of them these days plus the fact that he tends to be something of a leader, something we are desperately short of.

If only he could have remained fit!

Soren Moyer
31 Posted 28/05/2023 at 13:31:44
So, we are letting our best defender (and leader on the pitch) go for nothing!?
Joseph Terrence
32 Posted 28/05/2023 at 14:24:33
There's always such nonsense any time a player is mentioned, yet alone leaves l. So many assumptions.

We likely offered a contract with lower terms/based on matches played. He likely has more lucrative offers elsewhere, simple as that. It would be mad to offer a 3 year guaranteed salary given his injury problems.

As for the rest, I'll refer you to Christine's post #27

Kevin Prytherch
33 Posted 28/05/2023 at 14:37:55
As good as Yerry Mina is, we need to start again next season and plan for the future. Keeping Mina simply puts a very expensive obstacle in front of Branthwaite.

Mina, Keane, Holgate, Maupay, Gomes, Gbamin - we could do with them all leaving and giving a chance to the likes of Branthwaite, Welch, Warrington, Simms and Cannon.

Jack Plant
34 Posted 28/05/2023 at 20:07:42
He was great today and I'm going to miss him. Quality player, hopelessly unlucky.
Andrew Brookfield
35 Posted 28/05/2023 at 20:31:58
Brilliant when he plays, expensive when he doesn't. But a 1-year contract on £100k a week is £5M – not sure we'd sign a replacement for cheaper and not sure he'd get £100k anywhere else.

I'd love him to stay. Tarkowski and Mina with Branthwaite as backup feels like a solid defence.

Ian Bennett
36 Posted 28/05/2023 at 20:38:52
Shame Mina couldn't stay on a low basic and pay as you play deal.

He's undoubtedly our best centre halve, but 86 appearances in 5 seasons is a joke.

Top 4 teams are getting that in a season and a half. His £120k per week is like £300k a week equivalent for players playing 60 games a season. Same for Calvert-Lewin.

Mark Rankin
37 Posted 28/05/2023 at 21:43:08
Those three signings: Digne, Mina and Gomes…

Digne was a great signing and we got great money for home when he left, Mina and Gomes were awful signings, particularly, from a business point of view.

Mina redeemed himself, to some extent, over the past month but if he hadn't been so injury prone, we might not have been in the merde in the first place. Will miss him a bit though!

Gomes – we'll be still paying his big wages for another year.

Geoff Lambert
38 Posted 28/05/2023 at 22:06:58
Best centre half by far at the club, 60% of the games he playes in we win. Hope we bring back Branthwaite as his replacement.

Wish him well – I am sure he would have wanted to play in every game but injuries prevented that.

Phil Lewis
39 Posted 29/05/2023 at 01:07:26
A tremendous character and fine central defender. He wore his heart on his sleeve. A great pity that injury kept him sidelined for so long.

Dyche reinstated him just in the nick of time. Had he persisted any longer with Keane in defence, then I very much doubt we'd be celebrating tonight.

Branthwaite must replace him. Our rebuild begins now, from the heart of our central defence.

Dan Nulty
40 Posted 29/05/2023 at 09:17:28
Colin, I completely agree. I'd love to know the total number of games missed by all the players who over the last 5 years have had muscular leg injuries.

There is definitely an issue with either training methods, training or Goodison turf, recovery periods, post-training cool-downs. I don't understand why we haven't managed to get a handle on it.

I understand those saying Mina should get a pay-as-you-play deal but I think that ship has sailed. On his day, the lad could be class and was a master of the dark arts but we just didn't see him regularly enough and I think we'd get more of the same. Expect him to pop up and play for someone in Spain or Italy and play 40 games next season.

Shane Corcoran
41 Posted 29/05/2023 at 09:27:38
A great character because he wore the blue jersey, if he wore anything else, he'd be a shithouse. Football fans eh.

Good player, too injury-prone.

Sticking his head into that lad yesterday in such an important game was stupid. Alright when you get away with it.

He was entertaining when the context allowed it. He should have a good career in WWE.

Eric Myles
42 Posted 29/05/2023 at 09:42:22
Eddie #18

"Imagine getting a job and only turning up to 44% of the working week!"

I've had plenty of jobs like that. It's the contributions that I made that were important to the company, not the time that I spent on ToffeeWeb.

Denis Richardson
43 Posted 29/05/2023 at 20:03:47
Just saw this. Sad to see him go but I guess his appearance record is pretty poor. Also, £120k/week could be spent on someone who'll play more. Wouldn't have minded if he stayed on reduced wages.

£27M in transfer fees down the drain though. Yet another expensive signing leaving on a free at the end of their contract. Such poor transfer management. We've lost so much money on transfers like this over recent years.

A good chunk of Moshiris's £500M has disappeared on transfer fees that were never recovered. Off the top of my head: Sigurdsson, Bolasie, Mina, Tosun, Walcott, all signed for big money and eventually left on frees. We paid about £150M for just these 5 and that doesn't include wages. And I'm sure I've missed others.

Mina in total would have cost the club around £57M, fee and wages combined. Bonkers. That's 10% of the stadium!

Jon Harding
44 Posted 30/05/2023 at 10:56:54
If his recent performances have helped to save us from relegation (and financial oblivion), then his time at Everton has been value for money - just.
I thought his performance on Sunday was the epitome of shit-housery. The sort of player that his own fans love and supporters of all other clubs despise. Favourite moment was near the end when lying on top of Pickford who had just caught a tame shot. Totally unnecessary but wasted a few extra seconds.
He comes across as a top bloke and in terms of his injury record all I'll say to others is: you try being 6foot5 and see how your body fares. Both my sons are taller than this and active sportsmen but are constantly dealing with niggles and spend a fortune at various physios.
All the best, Yerry lad!
Brendan McLaughlin
45 Posted 30/05/2023 at 22:04:03
Hopefully folly such as the signing of Yerry Mina will become a thing of the past under Dyche.
Mike Gaynes
46 Posted 30/05/2023 at 22:16:08
Folly? As he has shown in recent weeks, he's an excellent player and could have been a mainstay of the club for years to come. Nobody can foresee injuries.
Don Alexander
47 Posted 30/05/2023 at 22:26:19
If anyone applauding Mina can explain his excellent injury-free record for his country in comparison to the record he's had with us I'd be very interested.
Chris Leyland
48 Posted 30/05/2023 at 22:51:21
I love Yerry. Going to miss him.

He’s a shithouse but he’s been our shithouse.

Yes, he hasn’t played enough but when he did play, we were much harder to beat.

Off the pitch, he seems like a nice guy too. I happen to live near him and often see him in Tesco. He’s always got time for a selfie with the kids and always had a smile on his face.

Good luck to him wherever he goes next.

Graham Hammond
49 Posted 31/05/2023 at 18:40:28
In a nutshell, if we had not had Yerry Mina in the team these last few weeks, then I believe we would be playing Championship football next season. He has been worth his weight in gold recently.

Yerry Mina is head and shoulders our best centre-back; without him, we would have been relegated. So what if his injury record (historically) is poor and his wages were high and so on? — he is a winner, he kept us in the league and the negative financial cost of relegation dwarfs everything Mina has had from us.

We paid around £28M for him, we stupidly froze him out of the side, we stupidly let his contract run down (and failed to protect an asset we paid a lot for) without offering him an extension, thereby pushing him out the door and pushing him out the door on a fucking free and all when we don't have a pot to piss in! Great business that, Everton.

Who the hell are we gonna get in who is as good? And what are we gonna do, pay out another £28M and let that player's contract run down too?

Branthwaite is already our player. Keep them both! Pushing winners out the door will only further lessen the quality of our squad.

I am seething that Yerry has been allowed to leave and his contract has been left to end without club intervention. I doubt Lampard would have let Mina leave on a free, this is on Everton and Sean Dyche, he felt that Keane, Tarkowski, Coady, Holgate, and Godfrey were the centre-back answers.

Now it is too late, Yerry has gone, and the team has been weakened once again.

Joe Hurst
50 Posted 03/06/2023 at 17:01:49
He has sent a final message to us Blues:

“Before the last game, I told you that we had one last mission together…and we did it! We have achieved it!”

He ends his message with “It has been an honour to have belonged to Everton and wherever I go I will be cheering for sure. You are in my heart.”

Nice words from the big guy!


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