Moussa Diaby

Moussa Diaby

Diaby in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Moussa Diaby [1]
Date of birth	(1999-07-07) 7 July 1999 (age 25) [2]
Place of birth	Paris, France
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) [2]
Position(s)	Winger, attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Al-Ittihad
Number	19
Youth career
2009–2013	Espérance Paris 19ème
2013–2017	Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017	Paris Saint-Germain B	14	(2)
2018–2019	Paris Saint-Germain	25	(2)
2018	→ Crotone (loan)	2	(0)
2019–2023	Bayer Leverkusen	125	(31)
2023–2024	Aston Villa	38	(6)
2024–	Al-Ittihad	10	(1)
International career‡
2016–2017	France U18	11	(2)
2017–2018	France U19	16	(5)
2018–2019	France U20	10	(7)
2019–2021	France U21	12	(0)
2021–	France	11	(0)
Medal record Men's football Representing   France UEFA Nations League Winner 2021 Italy
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:25, 7 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2024

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. ^[3]

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. ^[4] The club president, Morade Djeddi, recalled in September 2021: ^[4]

His skills have been evident since he was a child. He was already dynamic, tenacious, and skillful... he was just exceptional. His small size didn't matter, we promoted him to higher age groups, especially for cup matches.

He played alongside future professional footballers such as Youssouf Fofana and Yahia Fofana. ^{[4] [5]}

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. ^[6] Promoted later to the national under-17 team, he became the French champion in this category in 2016. ^[7] Continuing his good performances the following season, especially in the UEFA Youth League, he was voted Titi d'Or by his training center teammates. ^[8]

Debut

In September 2017, at the age of 18, Moussa Diaby signed his first professional contract for three years with Paris Saint-Germain. ^[9] 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, ^[10] Moussa Diaby resolved to be loaned to FC Crotone in Serie A during the winter break. ^[11] 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. ^[10] Four days later, he started against Juventus. ^[10] After a good performance, he did not appear in the last matches of the season. ^[12]

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. ^[13]

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). ^[10] 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. ^[14] 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). ^[15]

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. ^[16]

Loan to Crotone

Diaby was loaned to F.C. Crotone for the second-half of the 2017–18 Serie A season. ^[16] 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. ^[17] He would make one further first team appearance for Crotone in their 1–1 draw against eventual champions Juventus on 18 April. ^[16]

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. ^[18] 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. ^[16]

Bayer Leverkusen

In June 2019, Moussa Diaby was transferred to Bayer Leverkusen for 15 million euros excluding bonuses ^[19] and a resale percentage (20%) for Paris Saint-Germain. ^[20]

After five substitute appearances, ^[21] 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). ^[15] From then on, he became a regular starter in Peter Bosz's team. ^[15] 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. ^[15] Scoring eight goals and providing as many assists in all competitions, ^[21] 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. ^[15] During the summer of 2020, several offers were rejected by the German club's management. ^[20]

At the end of 2020, already under contract until 2024, ^[22] Moussa Diaby extended his contract for an additional season with a salary increase. ^[23] Since November 20, 2019, the international hopeful had not missed any matches in the Bundesliga. ^[22] Since his arrival in North Rhine-Westphalia, he had accumulated thirteen goals and fourteen assists. ^[22] 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. ^{[20] [ verification needed ]}

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. ^[23] He also helped defeat Borussia Dortmund by a score of 2–1 with a goal and an assist. ^[24] 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). ^[25] In all competitions, he scored ten goals and provided thirteen assists. ^[26]

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. ^[27] 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. ^[5]

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 ^[28] reuniting with former PSG manager Unai Emery. ^[29] 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. ^[30] On 12 August, he scored a goal on his Premier League debut in a 5–1 away defeat against Newcastle United. ^[31]

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. ^[32]

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. ^{[33] [34]}

International career

Diaby playing for France U-20

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. ^[35] 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. ^{[16] [36]}

On 26 August 2021, he received his first call to France senior squad. ^[37] 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. ^{[38] [39]} He is a Muslim. ^[40]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 17 January 2025 ^[3]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup [b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Paris Saint-Germain	2017–18	Ligue 1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2018–19		25	2	6	1	2	1	1 [c]	0	0	0	34	4
	Total		25	2	6	1	2	1	1	0	0	0	34	4
Crotone (loan)	2017–18	Serie A	2	0	0	0	—		—		—		2	0
Bayer Leverkusen	2019–20	Bundesliga	28	5	5	2	—		6 [d]	1	—		39	8
	2020–21		32	4	3	2	—		8 [e]	4	—		43	10
	2021–22		32	13	2	0	—		8 [e]	4	—		42	17
	2022–23		33	9	1	0	—		14 [f]	5	—		48	14
	Total		125	31	11	4	—		36	14	—		172	49
Aston Villa	2023–24	Premier League	38	6	3	1	1	0	12 [g]	3	—		54	10
Al-Ittihad	2024–25	Saudi Pro League	10	1	2	0	—		—		—		12	1
Career total			200	40	22	6	3	1	48	17	0	0	274	64

1. Includes Coupe de France, DFB-Pokal, FA Cup, King Cup
2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue, EFL Cup
3. Appearance in UEFA Champions League
4. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
6. Six appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances and three goals in UEFA Europa League
7. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 26 March 2024 ^[41]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
France	2021	4	0
	2022	4	0
	2023	2	0
	2024	1	0
Total		11	0

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain

• Ligue 1: 2018–19 ^[42]
• Trophée des Champions: 2018 ^[43]

France

• UEFA Nations League: 2020–21 ^[44]

Individual

• Titi d'Or: 2016 ^[16]
• UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2018 ^[35]
• Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2022–23 ^[45]
• Premier League Most Powerful Goal: 2023–24 ^[32]
• Saudi Pro League Player of the Month: October 2024

References

1. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: France" (PDF). FIFA. 13 June 2019. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
2. "Moussa Diaby". Premier League. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
3. "M. Diaby". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
4. "Moussa Diaby, de l'Espérance à l'équipe de France". SOFOOT.com (in French). 7 September 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
5. Loïc Tanzi (3 October 2021). "Moussa Diaby: "Je suis plus concentré par la performance que par ce qu'il se passe autour"". RMC Sport (in French). Retrieved 20 October 2021.
6. Already followed by big clubs, Moussa Diaby (PSG) doesn't forget his roots on goal.com
7. PSG youth: a double and a record on paris-canalhistorique.com
8. Moussa Diaby, named best young player at PSG: "I gave myself the means to succeed" on canal-supporters.com
9. PSG: Moussa Diaby signs professional contract on leparisien.fr
10. Frédéric Gouaillard (27 September 2018). "Né à Paris, Moussa Diaby grandit au PSG". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 18 October 2021.
11. PSG: Moussa Diaby loaned to Crotone on lequipe.fr
12. Diaby and Georgen, loans who play little but learn on culturepsg.com
13. PSG: Tuchel vetoes Diaby loan on paristeam.fr
14. S. N. (26 September 2018). "PSG-Reims: Tuchel replays the youth card with Diaby, Dagba and Nsoki". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 18 October 2021.
15. Benoît Desaint, Paul (22 October 2020). "Moussa Diaby (Bayer Leverkusen), ascension en toute discrétion". France Football (in French). Retrieved 20 October 2021.
16. "Who is Moussa Diaby: Bayer Leverkusen's NextGen star?". Bundesliga. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
17. "Genoa vs. Crotone – 14 April 2018 – Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
18. "Teenager Moussa Diaby on target as PSG cruise to 4–0 win over Saint-Etienne". 14 September 2018.
19. "Bayer 04 verpflichtet französischen Stürmer Moussa Diaby". Bayer 04 (in German). 14 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
20. Loïc Tanzi (15 December 2020). "Bundesliga: Diaby va prolonger à Leverkusen jusqu'en 2025". RMC Sport (in French). Retrieved 20 October 2021.
21. "Moussa Diaby, la révélation de Leverkusen". LEFIGARO (in French). 9 August 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
22. "Moussa Diaby prolonge avec le Bayer Leverkusen jusqu'en 2025". goal.com. 29 June 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
23. Alexis Pereira (20 January 2021). "Moussa Diaby enchante le Bayer Leverkusen". Foot Mercato (in French). Retrieved 20 October 2021.
24. "Un Moussa Diaby décisif permet à Leverkusen de battre Dortmund". L'Équipe (in French). 20 January 2021.
25. "Leverkusen se relance dans la course pour l'Europe grâce à un très bon Moussa Diaby". L'Équipe (in French). 17 April 2021.
26. "Leverkusen: Moussa Diaby juge sa saison". Ouest-France. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
27. Pierre-Hakim OUGGOURNI (7 September 2021). "L'insaisissable Moussa Diaby a une carte à jouer avec les Bleus". Ouest-France. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
28. Fisher, Ben (21 July 2023). "Aston Villa agree club-record £51.9m deal for Leverkusen's Moussa Diaby". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 22 July 2023.
29. "Aston Villa announce Moussa Diaby signing". Aston Villa Football Club. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
30. Reis, Bruna (27 July 2023). "£100m Diaby prediction as Tielemans 'incredible' for Villa". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
31. "Newcastle United 5–1 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 12 August 2023.
32. "Diaby wins Oracle Most Powerful Goal award". premierleague.com. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
33. Tanswell, Jacob (24 July 2024). "Moussa Diaby completes Al Ittihad move from Aston Villa". The Athletic. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
34. "Winger Diaby joins Al-Ittihad from Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 24 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
35. "Under-19 EURO team of the tournament". UEFA. August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
36. "USA edge France in baking Bydgoszcz thriller". FIFA. 4 June 2019. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
37. "La liste des vingt-trois Bleus". fff.fr. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
38. "Les "Titis" maliens du PSG: Une mine d'or pour le football malien – Malifootball". 14 December 2013.
39. "Moussa DIABY". unfp.org.
40. "Aston Villa latest to sign Muslim athlete charter". 21 August 2023.
41. "Moussa Diaby". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
42. "PSG Champions as Lille held at Toulouse". Ligue 1. 21 April 2019. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
43. "PSG thrash Monaco to win French Super Cup as Neymar plays 15 minutes". ESPN. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
44. "France beat Spain to win Nations League". UEFA. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
45. "The official Bundesliga Team of the Season 2022/23". Bundesliga. 13 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.

External links

• Moussa Diaby at Aston Villa F.C.
• Moussa Diaby at Premier League
• Moussa Diaby at the French Football Federation (in French)
• Moussa Diaby – UEFA competition record ( archive ) 
• Moussa Diaby at WorldFootball.net