Mouctar Diakhaby (born 19 December 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for La Liga club Valencia and the Guinea national team.
Early life
Diakhaby was born in Vendôme, France, to Guinean parents.
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. 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. 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. He also scored a goal in each of two legs of the 2016–17 Europa League round of 16 tie against Roma.
Valencia
On 28 June 2018, Diakhaby signed a five-year deal with Spanish side Valencia.
International career
Diakhaby was born in France, but is Guinean by descent. 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.