The suspension means that Gueye, who is currently at the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal, cannot take part in any competition until further notice.

The 22-year-old came off the bench for Senegal’s 1-0 win over Zimbabwe on Monday but was not in the squad for their 0-0 draw against Guinea on Friday.

Senegal manager Aliou Cisse said “There were problems between Watford and Marseille on a transfer [and] FIFA has suspended him,’

Gueye joined the Hornets in the summer of 2020 on a free transfer from the French side Le Havre but was sold to Marseille just 17 hours later.

Despite his incredibly short stint as Watford player, the Premier League club were able to claim compensation as the Senegal international had signed a pre-contract with them in January 2020.

Gueye reportedly signed a £45,000-a-week deal with Watford in the summer of the same year and was registered as a player on 1 July 2020. However, according to the Mirror, the player subsequently claimed he had been badly advised.

Less than a day after he was officially presented as a Watford player, Gueye revealed he had agreed to join Marseille.

‘Very happy and proud to announce my signature at L’Olympic de Marseille for the next four years,’ he wrote on Instagram as a caption for a picture of him wearing the Ligue 1 giants’ training top.

Back in April, the Premier League club agreed a five-year deal for the 21-year-old French midfielder understood to be worth in the region of £45,000 a month. He was photographed holding a Watford shirt after putting pen to paper in the pre-contract agreement.

Gueye was due to officially join Watford on Wednesday, July 1, as a free agent and had been registered as their player. But he changed his mind saying he was ‘badly advised’ to sign for the club.

Following his controversial comment, Watford held talks with Marseille regarding a move for Pape Gueye just 17 hours after they had finalised his arrival.

The Ligue 1 side have now announced the signing of the 21-year-old midfielder on a 4-year contract.