Everton captain Phil Neville believes the club have done all they can to try to keep Steven Pienaar at Goodison Park.
The 28-year-old South Africa International is yet to put pen-to-paper on a new contract, meaning he can leave the club on a Bosman free transfer next season.
And Neville believes it is now up to Pienaar to decide if his future lies with the Merseyside club.
He told the Liverpool Echo: “It would be a massive blow to lose him. He’s such an influential character.
“But it happened to Joleon Lescott a few years ago and we didn’t want him to move. It’s happened to other big players. But we as players can’t do anything about it.
“You can say to Steven every minute of every day that we don’t want him to leave but at the end of the day it’s his decision.
“He’s from South Africa, he’s played in Ajax, then Dortmund now he’s been to Everton and had the happiest days of his career I think. The club wants him to stay, but there’s not much else we can say.
“He’s probably weighing up his options now and you just hope for our sake that he signs.
“I wouldn’t want another player delving into it, if I was in this situation. It’s between the manager, Steven and the chairman. It’s just up to Steven to make the right decision now.”