Mouctar Diakhaby

Mouctar Diakhaby (born 19 December 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for La Liga club Valencia. Born in France, he plays for the Guinea national team.

Mouctar Diakhaby

Diakhaby playing for Guinea at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
Personal information
Full name	Mouctar Diakhaby[1]
Date of birth	(1996-12-19) 19 December 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Vendôme, France
Height	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[2]
Position(s)	Centre-back, defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Valencia
Number	4
Youth career
2004–2009	USSA Vertou
2009–2010	Nantes
2010–2013	USSA Vertou
2013–2016	Lyon
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2018	Lyon B	55	(11)
2016–2018	Lyon	34	(2)
2018–	Valencia	154	(9)
International career‡
2014–2015	France U19	11	(1)
2015–2016	France U20	6	(0)
2017–2018	France U21	9	(1)
2022–	Guinea	16	(1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 27 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 25 March 2025

Early life

Diakhaby was born in Vendôme, France, to Guinean parents, who were from Touba.^[3]

Club career

Lyon

Diakhaby made his first team debut for Lyon on 10 September 2016 in a Ligue 1 match against Bordeaux, playing the whole match in a 3–1 home loss.^[4] On 30 November 2016, he scored his first competitive goal for the Lyon first team in a 6–0 Ligue 1 away rout of Nantes.^[5] On 23 February 2017, Diakhaby scored a goal (in the 89th minute) in the 2016–17 Europa League round of 32 second-leg 7–1 home win over AZ Alkmaar to register his first career UEFA Europa League or UEFA Champions League goal.^[6] He also scored a goal in each of two legs of the 2016–17 Europa League round of 16 tie against Roma.

Valencia

Diakhaby with Valencia in 2021

On 28 June 2018, Diakhaby signed a five-year deal with Spanish side Valencia.^[7] On 3 March 2024, he sustained a serious injury, diagnosed as a dislocated knee, following a collision with Aurélien Tchouaméni during a match against Real Madrid.^[8]

International career

Diakhaby was born in France, but is Guinean by descent.^[9] He is a former youth international for France. In 2022 however he decided to represent the home country of his parents, Guinea, and debuted for them against Egypt.

On 23 December 2023, he was selected from the list of 25 Guinean players selected by Kaba Diawara to compete in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 15 March 2025^[10][11]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lyon	2016–17	Ligue 1	22	1	1	1	0	0	11[c]	3	0	0	34	5
	2017–18		12	1	3	0	1	0	5[d]	1	—		21	2
	Total		34	2	4	1	1	0	16	4	0	0	55	7
Valencia	2018–19	La Liga	22	2	7	0	—		9[e]	1	—		38	3
	2019–20		21	0	3	0	—		5[f]	0	0	0	29	0
	2020–21		26	1	1	0	—		—		—		27	1
	2021–22		29	0	8	0	—		—		—		37	0
	2022–23		29	3	1	0	—		—		0	0	30	3
	2023–24		14	1	1	0	—		—		—		15	1
	2024–25		5	1	1	0	—		—		—		6	1
	Total		146	8	22	0	—		14	1	0	0	182	9
Career total			180	10	26	1	1	0	30	5	0	0	237	16

1. Includes Coupe de France, Copa del Rey
2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue
3. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances and three goals in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
5. Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
6. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 25 March 2025^[12]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Guinea	2022	4	1
	2023	5	0
	2024	5	0
	2025	2	0
Total		16	1

Scores and results list Guinea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Diakhaby goal.^[12]

List of international goals scored by Mouctar Diakhaby

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	27 September 2022	Stade de la Licorne, Amiens, France	Ivory Coast	1–3	1–3	Friendly

Honours

Valencia

• Copa del Rey: 2018–19^[13]