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.
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]
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.[9]
In September 2017, at the age of 18, Diaby signed his first professional contract for three years with Paris Saint-Germain.[10]
Loan to Crotone
Not used by PSG head coach 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,[11] Diaby resolved to be loaned to Crotone in Serie A during the winter break.[9] 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 14 April against Genoa, coming on with eight minutes remaining.[11] Four days later, he started against Juventus.[11] After a good performance, he did not appear in the last matches of the season.[12]
Return to PSG
Missing part of the preparation due to the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Diaby 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 or Real Sociedad was considered, but the new Parisian coach Thomas Tuchel decided to keep Diaby at the club.[13]
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.[14] He became the 124th academy graduate to feature for the senior side.
Diaby 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.[9]
Bayer Leverkusen
In June 2019, Diaby was transferred to Bayer Leverkusen for 15 million euros excluding bonuses[15] and a resale percentage (20%) for Paris Saint-Germain.[16] After five substitute appearances,[17] the international hopeful played 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 1–1 draw.[18] From then on, he became a regular starter in Peter Bosz's team.[18] Ultimately, Diaby scored five goals and provided as many assists during the 2019–20 season, which ended with a fifth-place finish in the Bundesliga.[18] Scoring eight goals and providing as many assists in all competitions,[17] 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.[18] During the summer of 2020, several offers were rejected by the German club's management.[16] At the end of 2020, already under contract until 2024,[19] Diaby extended his contract for an additional season with a salary increase.[20] Since 20 November 2019, the international hopeful had not missed any matches in the Bundesliga.[19] Since his arrival in North Rhine-Westphalia, he had accumulated thirteen goals and fourteen assists.[19] The most used player by Peter Bosz in the first half of the 2020–21 season, 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.[16][verification needed]
By the end of January 2021, Diaby had three goals and four assists in seventeen league starts, as well as a brace in a 4–1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB-Pokal.[20] He also helped defeat Borussia Dortmund by a score of 2–1 with a goal and an assist.[21] By mid-April, his team was no longer in the title race but was competing for qualification for European competition, and Diaby contributed with an assist and a goal in a 3–0 win against 1. FC Köln.[22] In all competitions, he scored ten goals and provided thirteen assists.[23]
At the beginning of September 2021, at the time of his first selection for the France national team, Diaby was directly involved in 44 goals (20 goals, 24 assists) in 85 appearances for Leverkusen across all competitions, averaging more than one contribution every two matches.[24] 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 2021–22 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[25] reuniting with former PSG manager Unai Emery.[26] 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.[27] On 12 August, he scored a goal on his Premier League debut in a 5–1 away defeat against Newcastle United.[28]
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 109.84km/h at the time it reached the goal – faster than any other goal in the Premier League that season.[29]
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.[30][31]
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.[32] 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.[9][33]
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