Mason Holgate’s career has certainly been a rollercoaster with the defender now months on from permanently leaving Everton.
The 29-year-old was one of the numerous players who departed Everton as a free agent over the summer.
On the back of his various loan stints across the Championship, Holgate has now found his new home in Qatar.
Jordan Pickford has praised Holgate for his contributions on Merseyside over the years, and he can now look back on his time at Everton with pride.
The defender is currently playing in the top flight in Qatar with Al-Gharafa, where he’s enjoying a welcome break from the stresses of English football.
However, there is something that the Jamaican does miss a lot about his time in England with the likes of Everton.
What Mason Holgate misses about Everton
Holgate spent 10 years on Everton’s books after initially joining back in 2015 from Barnsley as a young prospect.
The defender’s career was certainly turbulent, but he did manage to rack up 150 appearances for the Blues.
Speaking to TalkSPORT, the 29-year-old has shared exactly what he has missed about playing for Everton.
“I was being judged off of a different expectation, I felt like, to everybody else who was playing,” ,” he said.
“I think looking back on it now, that was definitely a privilege and something that I miss 100 per cent with the fans being so passionate in England and stuff like that.”
Roy Keane has named Everton’s support as the best in the Premier League recently and that is something he will certainly not be experiencing in Qatar.
Holgate moved to reset his career and all Everton fans will surely respect him for taking that step back to rediscover his love for the game.
Holgate shares his best Everton memory
Like many Everton players at the club at the time, that game against Crystal Palace is one that will stick with them for the remainder of their days.
Having fought their way back from 2-0 down, Holgate reflected on the incredible scenes at Goodison Park back in 2023.
“Goodison – going in there, the scenes of getting the bus in there and stuff like that, and then at the end, we turn it round to 3-2,” he said.
“I just remember in the change room at half-time how it felt. And then I think I headed one down, and Keano [Michael Keane] scored and then once Keano scored, it kind of just felt like they were just going in and in and in and in.
“I can’t really remember the second half, but it was a great, great memory, and especially the games leading up to that as well.”
Everton are now targeting European qualification under David Moyes, but it is important to remember that things were so much different just months ago on Merseyside.
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