Moussa Diaby

Moussa Diaby (born 7 July 1999) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad and the France national team.

Early life

Coming from a Malian family, Moussa Diaby began playing football at Espérance Paris in the 19th arrondissement, at the Jules-Ladoumègue sports center in the under-10 category, where he remained until the under-14 level. The club president, Morade Djeddi, recalled in September 2021:

He played alongside future professional footballers such as Youssouf Fofana and Yahia Fofana.

Spotted by several professional clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain, he joined the latter at the age of 13. His small stature initially made it difficult for him to stand out in the lower categories, and he started with the Division d'Honneur team in the under-17 category. Promoted later to the national under-17 team, he became the French champion in this category in 2016. Continuing his good performances the following season, especially in the UEFA Youth League, he was voted Titi d'Or by his training center teammates.

Debut

In September 2017, at the age of 18, Moussa Diaby signed his first professional contract for three years with Paris Saint-Germain. Not used by Unai Emery in the first half of the season and suspended for eight matches due to a foul play in a match for the Under-19 national league, Moussa Diaby resolved to be loaned to FC Crotone in Serie A during the winter break. He scored a goal and provided an assist in his first match with the reserve team. Present on the bench for the first team in the following weeks, he made his professional debut on April 14 against Genoa CFC, coming on with eight minutes remaining. Four days later, he started against Juventus. After a good performance, he did not appear in the last matches of the season.

Missing part of the preparation due to the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, he rejoined Paris Saint-Germain during the summer tour. This gave him the opportunity to play his first matches with the professional team, scoring his first goal in a friendly against Atlético Madrid and winning the 2018 Trophée des Champions, although he did not play in the match. Initially, a new loan to Montpellier HSC or Real Sociedad was considered, but the new Parisian coach Thomas Tuchel decided to keep Moussa Diaby at the club.

Moussa Diaby made his Ligue 1 debut in the first matchday against SM Caen. Coming on at halftime against AS Saint-Étienne, he scored his first senior goal on 14 09 2018 (4-0). At the end of the month and during the home match against Stade de Reims, Moussa Diaby was a starter for the first time in Ligue 1. On 24 10 2018, he played his first match in the UEFA Champions League by coming on against SSC Napoli. At the end of the season, he won the Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain and was a finalist in the Coupe de France. His first season with Paris Saint-Germain was considered encouraging (4 goals and 7 assists in 34 appearances).

Club career

Paris Saint-Germain

Diaby is a product of the Paris Saint-Germain Academy. He joined the club when he was 13 and began playing for the B team in 2017. Diaby was the recipient of the 2016 Titi d'Or as the most promising and best talent in the Paris Saint-Germain academy.

Loan to Crotone

Diaby was loaned to F.C. Crotone for the second-half of the 2017–18 Serie A season. He made his professional debut on 14 April 2018 in a Serie A match against Genoa. He replaced Marcello Trotta after 84 minutes in a 1–0 away loss. He would make one further first team appearance for Crotone in their 1–1 draw against eventual champions Juventus on 18 April.

Return to PSG

On 14 September 2018, Diaby, who replaced Lassana Diarra at halftime, scored for PSG in the 86th minute in a 4–0 win over AS Saint-Étienne. Diaby became the 124th academy graduate to feature for the senior side.

He went on to make 25 Ligue 1 appearances in 2018–19, scoring four times across all competitions and averaging an assist every 190 minutes during the club's successful title defence.

Bayer Leverkusen

In June 2019, Moussa Diaby was transferred to Bayer Leverkusen for 15 million euros excluding bonuses and a resale percentage (20%) for Paris Saint-Germain. After five substitute appearances, the international hopeful started his first match as a starter against SC Freiburg in November, where he shone with his speed and scored his first goal in Germany during a draw (1-1). From then on, he became a regular starter in Peter Bosz's team. Ultimately, Moussa Diaby scored five goals and provided as many assists during the 2019-2020 season, which ended with a fifth-place finish in the Bundesliga. Scoring eight goals and providing as many assists in all competitions, Moussa Diaby was even voted player of the season by the fans with 26.9% of the votes, ahead of the squad's star Kai Havertz. During the summer of 2020, several offers were rejected by the German club's management. At the end of 2020, already under contract until 2024, Moussa Diaby extended his contract for an additional season with a salary increase. Since November 20, 2019, the international hopeful had not missed any matches in the Bundesliga. Since his arrival in North Rhine-Westphalia, he had accumulated thirteen goals and fourteen assists. The most used player by Peter Bosz in the first half of the 2020-2021 season, Moussa Diaby had at that point scored four goals, including three in the Europa League, and five assists, placing him among the most decisive players for Leverkusen, who were leaders of the Bundesliga.

By the end of January 2021, Moussa Diaby had three goals and four assists in 17 league starts, as well as a brace in a 4–1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB-Pokal. He also helped defeat Borussia Dortmund by a score of 2–1 with a goal and an assist. By mid-April, his team was no longer in the title race but was competing for qualification for European competition, and Moussa Diaby contributed with an assist and a goal against Cologne (3-0). In all competitions, he scored ten goals and provided thirteen assists.

At the beginning of September 2021, at the time of his first selection for the France national team, Moussa Diaby was directly involved in 44 goals (20 goals, 24 assists) in 85 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen across all competitions, averaging more than one contribution every two matches. A month later, having been called up for the French team for the second consecutive time, he had three goals and one assist in nine matches for Leverkusen at the start of the 2021-2022 season.

Aston Villa

On 22 July 2023, Diaby joined Premier League club Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee, rejecting a move to the Saudi Pro League, which was reported to be a club-record £51.9 million reuniting with former PSG manager Unai Emery. On 27 July, Diaby scored minutes after coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 pre-season victory over Fulham in the Premier League Summer Series in the United States. On 12 August, he scored a goal on his Premier League debut in a 5–1 away defeat against Newcastle United.

A goal that Diaby scored on 30 March 2024, in a 2–0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers was given the Premier League Most Powerful Goal award, after being calculated by Opta to have been traveling at 109.84 km/h at the time it reached the goal – faster than any other goal in the Premier League that season.

Al-Ittihad

On 24 July 2024, after just one season in England, Diaby moved to Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad in a deal reportedly worth around €60 million.

International career

Diaby is a France youth international having represented the country at U18, U19, U20, and U21 levels.

He produced a goal and three assists at the 2018 UEFA European U19 Championship, earning a place in the team of the tournament. The following summer, he scored one goal and assisted two more in four matches at the 2019 FIFA U20 World Cup where France were eliminated at the Round of 16 stage.

On 26 August 2021, he received his first call to France senior squad. He made his international debut on 1 September 2021 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, replacing Kylian Mbappé in the last minute of the match.

Personal life

Diaby was born in Paris to a family of Malian descent. He is a Muslim.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain
* Ligue 1: 2018–19
* Trophée des Champions: 2018

Al-Ittihad
* Saudi Pro League: 2024–25
* King's Cup: 2024–25

France
* UEFA Nations League: 2020–21

Individual
* Titi d'Or: 2016
* UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2018
* Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2022–23
* Premier League Most Powerful Goal: 2023–24
* Saudi Pro League Player of the Month: October 2024

References

External links

Moussa Diaby
at Aston Villa F.C.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaby, Moussa
1999 births
Living people
Footballers from Paris
French men's footballers
France men's youth international footballers
France men's under-21 international footballers
France men's international footballers
Men's association football wingers
Paris Saint-Germain FC players
FC Crotone players
Bayer 04 Leverkusen players
Aston Villa F.C. players
Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah) players
Ligue 1 players
Serie A players
Bundesliga players
Premier League players
Saudi Pro League players
French expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia
French expatriate sportspeople in Germany
French expatriate sportspeople in Italy
French expatriate sportspeople in England
French expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia
Black French sportspeople
French sportspeople of Malian descent
UEFA Nations League–winning players
21st-century French sportsmen