Moussa Diaby

Moussa Diaby (born 7 July 1999) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for club Aston Villa and the France national team.

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
On 14 June 2019, it was announced that Diaby would join Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year deal. Diaby scored his first Bundesliga goal for Leverkusen in his first competitive start on 23 November 2019 in the club's 1–1 draw with SC Freiburg.

Diaby scored Leverkusen's third goal in stoppage time to seal a win over 1. FC Union Berlin in the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal on 4 March 2020. In the next round, on 9 June 2020, Diaby scored the first goal in Leverkusen's 3–0 victory over fourth division 1. FC Saarbrücken to secure a spot in the 2020 DFB-Pokal Final. On 21 August 2021, he scored in the Bundesliga against Borussia Mönchengladbach and it was his first goal of the season. He managed to score 9 goals and provided 8 assists in the 2022–23 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 £51.9m, 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 been calculated by Opta to have been travelling at 109.84km/h at the time it reached the goal – faster than any other goal in the Premier League that season.

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 also a Muslim.

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

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