Former Aston Villa and France winger Moussa Diaby has rejoined Bayer Leverkusen from Saudi side Al-Ittihad on a deal until 2031, the German club announced on Tuesday.
German tabloid Bild said Leverkusen paid 27 million euros ($31 million) to Al-Ittihad to bring Diaby, 27, back to the BayArena.
"When the request came and the move was possible, I didn't doubt it for a second," Diaby said in a statement, adding "the club has gotten bigger in the meantime -- aiming for **** les with Leverkusen is a very big goal of mine."
A fast winger, Diaby scored 31 goals and laid on 37 **** ists in 125 Bundesliga matches for Leverkusen after joining from Paris Saint-Germain in 2019.
He made his France debut while at Leverkusen and went on to gain 11 caps for the two-time world champions, last playing before the 2024 Euros.

#ittihad #million #former

Sunderland have yet to conclude a deal to sign Igor Paixao (26) from Olympique de Marseille, and according to a report from Sacha Tavolieri, they now face competition for the Brazilian's signature.
Paixao joined OM from Feyenoord last season for a €30m fee and, just 12 months later, the Brazilian could leave. Marseille and Sunderland are in talks regarding a transfer for the forward, although there is not yet any agreement between the clubs. There are also talks between the Premier League side and Paixao's representatives. Get French Football News understands that the player's representatives were in London for talks on Thursday.
OM cannot close the door to a departure, even if Bruno Genesio is desperate to retain the player, the only recognised senior left-winger in the squad. The chances of Paixao leaving have now increased, even if Sunderland are no closer to concluding a deal. He is seen as an option for Al-Ittihad, should the Saudi side fail to wrap up a deal for Ritsu Doan.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle

#paixao #deal #talks #even

Ritsu Doan looks likely to leave Eintracht Frankfurt before the transfer window closes.
According to Sky Germany, the 28-year-old ******* an international has agreed personal terms with Al Ittihad, who are offering him an annual salary of €9 million.
Eintracht Frankfurt and the Saudi Arabian side are now in talks over a transfer fee, with an €18 million offer reportedly on the table.
Doan was left out of Eintracht's squad for Saturday's 3-3 draw with 1. FC Union Berlin due to muscular problems.
The winger joined Eintracht from Freiburg for a reported €21 million fee in the summer of 2025.

#eintracht #doan

Three years after leaving Bayer Leverkusen, Moussa Diaby is set to return to the BayArena.
According to Kicker and Bild, a breakthrough has been reached in negotiations between Leverkusen and Diaby's current club, Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad.
Kicker reports that the transfer fee will be just under €30 million, while Bild puts the figure at €28 million.
If everything goes according to plan, the 27-year-old's return to Leverkusen will be completed within the coming days.
Die Werkself received €55 million when they sold Diaby to Aston Villa in 2023. He then moved to Al-Ittihad for €60 million the following year.

#ittihad

Bayer Leverkusen and Al-Ittihad have reached a breakthrough in negotiations for the transfer of Moussa Diaby, according to Sky Germany and Kicker. A full verbal agreement has been reached between the two clubs worth around €30m. Diaby has agreed to sign a five-year contract through to June 2031, with the medical to follow. The 27-year-old previously played for Leverkusen from 2019 to 2023 before making the move to the English Premier League to join Aston Villa for €55m. After a single season at Villa Park, Diaby joined Al-Ittihad, where he spent the last two seasons. Diaby has made 56 league appearances for the Saudi Pro League club and managed to score nine goals while providing 21 ***** ists. Diaby scored 49 goals and provided 47 ***** ists in 172 games during his first spell at Leverkusen. His return is a welcome sight for a team that is once again rebuilding its roster under a new head coach in Carles Martínez Novell. GGFN | Brook Genene

#diaby #reached #year #bayer

Juventus are continuing to trim fat, but it's still not enough to finally table their offer for Frank Kessié, and Roma have entered the race, joining Al-Ittihad and other Saudi sides that would cover him in gold to keep him in their league, La Gazzetta dello Sport informs.
After releasing Arthur Melo, the Bianconeri will bid farewell to Fabio Miretti. He'll move to Besiktas, like Dusan Vlahovic, on a loan with a conditional obligation to buy. The Old Lady also completed Michele Di Gregorio's exit and Kamil Grabara's arrival, with a temporary formula with a €12M acquisition clause. Instead, Mattia Perin transferred to Palermo on a €500k move.
On the other hand, the recent departures don't suffice yet for Juventus to really step up their Kessié pursuit. They have to find a solution for the burdensome Teun Koopmeiners, Jonathan David, and Nicolas Gonzalez. Juan Cabal and Arkadiusz Milik are also on the chopping block.
In the meantime, Roma have shown some interest in the Ivorian powerhouse, who broke out under Gian Piero Gasperini at Atalanta. They have skirted the Manchester United threat for Manu Koné, as the Red Devils completed their midfield with Carlos Baleba. Other sides could be keen on him, but Neil El Aynaoui is a more precarious spot now.
They shouldn't waste any more time and should sign him in after managing to have a hold on him for so long, and worry about the departures later. Koopmeiners is the main Gordian knot, but there may also be issues with his personal terms. It's been a while since the capital club signed a veteran with bloated wages, even though Gasperini surely wouldn't mind.

#frank

The new season is just around the corner and the transfer market is heating up. Serie A 2026/27 officially kicks off on Saturday with the opening round of fixtures, which will wrap up on Monday night, while negotiations continue to deliver twists and turns, with Italian clubs busy both in incoming and outgoing deals.
Watch the entire Serie BKT live with LaB Channel on OneFootball: subscribe for just €9.99 per month!
With exactly two weeks to go until the summer window closes, clubs are still working to hand their respective coaches new additions ahead of the upcoming season. Let's take a look at the most important updates of the day involving Serie A's top clubs.
Franck Kessié's future is still far from decided. The Ivorian midfielder has firmly ended up in Al-Ittihad's sights, with the club ready to convince him with a particularly significant financial offer. The former Milan man, however, has not yet made up his mind and is still considering the possibility of returning to Serie A.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Kessié is stalling because he wants to wait for Juventus before making a decision. The Bianconeri are keeping contacts with his entourage alive, but the main issue remains his salary, which the Ivorian would have to lower to help make the deal happen. In the meantime, Al-Ittihad continue to push in an attempt to get it over the line.

#season

Girona FC and Al-Ittihad FC have reached an agreement for the loan of midfielder Unai Hernández until the end of the season.
Born in Malgrat de Mar on December 14, 2004, Unai Hernández, 21 years old, returns to a club he knows very well. After starting at the Olímpic Malgrat School, the footballer joined Girona in the Aleví category. In our youth football system, the player from Maresme spent seven seasons where he had a precocious trajectory. He was still a second-year youth player when he joined the reserve team, although he still played some matches with the youth team. In December 2021, Michel called him up to train with the first team, and shortly after, on January 2, 2022, he was part of the squad that traveled to play a league match against Huesca.
It was in the summer of 2022 when FC Barcelona signed Unai, who joined the Juvenil A team before later moving to the Barça reserve team. At this club, he also stood out for his talent. Xavi Hernández had him travel with the first team for the last league match of the 2022-2023 season against Celta. However, his debut with Barça's first team took place in ******* an, in a preseason match against Vissel Kobe. In Barça's reserve team, he became one of the most important players on the team. During the 2023-24 season, he played 38 matches and scored 10 goals.
In January 2025, he was transferred to Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Professional League. With the Jeddah team, he participated in nine matches and scored one goal before continuing his experience in Arab football on loan to Al-Shabab.
The new red-and-white player has excellent ball control, the ability to drive the ball, and enough technique to surpass opponents in tight ******* es. He is a footballer with a lot of personality and a remarkable shot.

#team #hern #ndez #Youth

Serie A side Inter are nearing an agreement with Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur for the transfer of Djed Spence.
A report by La Gazzetta dello Sport reveals that Inter and Tottenham are close to reaching an understanding on transfer fees for Djed Spence. The total deal is expected to be around €30 million plus bonuses.
Following the €20 million transfer of Denzel Dumfries to Real Madrid earlier this summer, Inter were left with the task of finding a reliable successor to the right-back role. The Nerazzurri had Spence and Al-Ittihad's wide midfielder Moussa Diaby in their sights, but negotiations for the latter turned out to be a complicated affair since the Saudi Arabian side had already received a tempting offer from Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen.
The objective right now for Inter is to put pen to paper on the contract for Spence before the start of the season. However, it is unlikely that he will be fit to start the opener since he just returned to training at Spurs following the post-World Cup break. Like his England teammate, Inter's new signing John Stones is also expected to miss the first match, and should Spence's transfer go through successfully, both should be fit for the second one.
Trambak Bhattacherjee | GIFN

#side

The second attempt by Inter to onboard Moussa Diaby in the span of a few months might be short-lived too, and they inquired about Nicolas Gonzalez, who's technically at Juventus but in limbo after Atletico Madrid didn't pick up their option to buy, Gianluca Di Marzio reports.
The Frenchman was a complex target to begin with because of his lofty wages. The Nerazzurri need help from Al-Ittihad and would prefer to include Kristjan Asllani to limit the disbursement. The deal doesn't have a lot of momentum. Furthermore, Bayer Leverkusen have joined the race and are pushing.
Inter expressed interest in Diaby but didn't initiate a real negotiation, while intermediaries suggested tracking Gonzalez. They are mulling over whether to proceed or not. He did okay in Spain, scoring 5 goals in 24 appearances and handling multiple roles amid a few small muscular injuries.
According to Fabrizio Romano (via Goal), Juventus will only let him go permanently this time around. Atletico Madrid passed on a €30M clause, believing they could get better terms afterward. Per La Gazzetta dello Sport, he doesn't want to stay in Turin. A swap deal with Davide Frattesi, who's also on his way out, could be a tangible possibility. They have comparable wages and valuations.
They have suddenly started focusing on very offensive-minded options, perhaps signaling that they might not stop at one acquisition to balance things out. Their Argentinian connection is well-known. A straight-up trade with Juventus could be beneficial for both and could have legs if the two sides acted reasonably, but Frattesi wouldn't find himself in a much better situation competition-wise.

#gonzalez #atletico #didn 't

A new era has begun at Al Ittihad, with 38-year-old German Jens Wissing taking charge of the Jeddah giants as they look to bounce back after last season's disappointing **** le defence.
Perhaps a little unknown to fans of the Roshn Saudi League, Wissing comes to the Kingdom following his debut senior managerial job, with **** an's Gamba Osaka.
Certainly, his appointment represents a new direction for Al Ittihad, who will be out to mount a challenge to reclaim the RSL **** le they lifted two seasons ago.
With that in mind, we break down what Wissing should bring to the club, and why the 2024-25 RSL champions felt he was the right man to succeed Sergio Conceicao.
The first responsibility of any coach is to win games and subsequently **** les, and Wissing arrives having already captured a continental **** le only six months into his senior coaching career.

#wissing #jeddah #saudi

According to Sacha Tavolieri, Schalke are among the clubs showing interest in signing George Ilenikhena from Al-Ittihad. The deal would be difficult for the newly-promoted Bundesliga side as the Saudi Pro League club paid €33 million to sign the Nigerian from AS Monaco in January.
However, the striker is already looking for a return to Europe after only six appearances, with five of them as a substitute. Al-Ittihad are reportedly open to a loan with a buying option.
Tavolieri mentioned Championship side West Ham United and Genoa as other clubs exploring a deal for the 19-year-old. Before turning 20 next month, Ilenikhena is already involved in transfers worth nearly €60 million. He signed a contract until 2029 when he joined the Jeddah club.Ilenikhena scored against Barcelona in the Champions League both as a Royal Antwerp and Monaco player.

#deal #million

The Egyptian King departed on a free transfer when his contract expired at the end of June. Salah, 34, is now free to pick his next club after reaching an agreement to rip up his £400k per week deal one year early.
The all-time Liverpool legend has been linked with moves to Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia while teams in Europe including Juventus, Roma, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce would dearly love to have him on board.
Salah is coming off the back of a FIFA World Cup campaign with Egypt - where he helped the Pharaohs reach the round-of-16 stage before elimination by Argentina last week.
The transfer race will surely heat up once the two-time African footballer of the year completes his summer break. And right now there remains the possibility that Salah heads BACK to the United States following the World Cup campaign.
Because the Athletic is reporting that the left-footed attacker is a surprise target for ambitious Major League Soccer side Sporting Kansas City.

A former member of the midfield ranks at La Liga giants Real Madrid has hinted that he would jump at the opportunity to return down the line.
The player in question? Fabinho.
Unbeknownst to many, veteran midfielder Fabinho spent one of the early years of his career plying his trade on the books of Real Madrid. After initially lining out for Los Blancos at reserve level, the Brazilian later managed a solitary La Liga appearance, late in the 2012/13 season.
From here, he linked up with AS Monaco in search of more consistent senior playing time, before developing into one of world football’s finest in his role.
Fabinho has spent the last couple of seasons lining out in the Saudi Pro League, with Al-Ittihad.

Fabinho’s summer has taken on fresh intrigue, the kind that tends to follow established players once their futures loosen from contract and routine. Recalled by Brazil for the 2026 World Cup after spending three seasons with Al-Ittihad, the former Liverpool midfielder now finds himself back in the market as a free agent, and speaking warmly about a club he once briefly called home.
His return to Brazil’s squad raised eyebrows in some quarters, largely because his recent football has unfolded far from Europe’s weekly glare. Yet there has been substance to his time in Saudi Arabia. Fabinho helped Al-Ittihad secure successive Saudi Pro League ******* les and also lifted the King’s Cup, adding order and experience to a side built to win quickly.
That chapter has now closed. His three-year contract in Jeddah expired at the end of June, with no extension agreed, leaving the 32-year-old free to consider the next step of a career that has already taken him through several of the modern game’s most demanding environments.
When asked about the prospect of a move back to Spain by El Chiringuito TV, Fabinho did little to dampen the conversation. “Would I like to return to Real Madrid? Who wouldn’t like being at Real Madrid? It’s the best club in the world.” It was a clear enough answer, respectful in tone, but open enough to invite speculation around a possible reunion.
His history with Real Madrid is slight, but real. He joined Real Madrid Castilla from Rio Ave in 2012, became a regular for the B team in the Segunda División and worked in close proximity to José Mourinho’s senior squad. His only first-team appearance came in May 2013, when he stepped off the bench in a 6-2 win away to Malaga.

Fabinho’s playing career has taken him from Real Madrid Castilla to Monaco, Liverpool and now Al-Ittihad, but the Brazilian has made it clear that his admiration for Los Blancos has never faded.
More than a decade after his brief spell at the Santiago Bernabeu, the midfielder has spoken warmly about the possibility of wearing the famous white shirt again.
Although there is no suggestion that Real Madrid are considering a move for the experienced midfielder, his comments offered a reminder of the strong connection he still feels with the club where he first experienced top-level European football.
During an interview with El Chiringuito TV, the Brazil international was asked whether he would be interested in returning to the Santiago Bernabeu if the opportunity ever arose, to which he said,
“Would I like to return to Real Madrid? Who wouldn’t like being at Real Madrid? It’s the best club in the world.”

The latest updates claim that Al-Ittihad are prepared to offer a salary worth €20m per season to convince Antonio Conte to become head coach, but the recently-departed Napoli boss remains among the frontrunners to return to his former role with the Italy national team.
According to reports on Monday, Al-Ittihad are prepared to offer Conte a hefty salary in order to take over from short-lived Milan head coach Sergio Conceicao in Saudi Arabia. Tuesday's updates from the Corriere dello Sport add that this proposal is worth €20m per season in wages.
The 56-year-old is currently available having terminated his contract with Napoli by mutual consent at the beginning of June. He had spent two seasons in Naples, winning the Serie A ***** le in his first season and the Supercoppa Italiana in his second.
Conte, however, is one of the two leading candidates to take over in the role of Italy national team head coach following the departure of Gennaro Gattuso shortly after the World Cup play-off final heartbreak against Bosnia and Herzegovina earlier this year.
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY – MARCH 05: Giovanni Malago, President of the Organising Committee for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, speaks during the Paralympic Games Opening Press Conference ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games at on March 05, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)

Scotland's strong midfield will be key to competing with Brazil on Wednesday, but the "sweltering afternoon heat" of Miami could mean a similar outcome to their 1982 meeting in Seville, fears South American football expert Tim Vickery.
The Scots took the lead in 44 years ago only to lose 4-1 but need to avoid a repeat if they are to progress to the knock-out stages for the first time.
Vickery expects Al-Ittihad's Fabinho to start alongside Bruno Guimaraes and Lucas Paqueta instead of Manchester United's Casemiro, who is on a yellow card and in danger of suspension.
"But central midfield is not their best area," he said of the current Brazil side on BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound. "Scotland are quite strong there and can compete.
"Can they do it for the full 90 minutes? Memories of that fine Scottish side in '82 that held Brazil 1-1 at half time but in the second half in the heat of Seville couldn't keep it up.

The Egyptian King, 33, has reached an agreement to rip up his £400k per week contract one year early. Salah fell out with former Liverpool head coach Arne Slot during the 2025/26 season - and will now become a free agent.
The left-footed forward’s contract officially expires on June 30 - and he will be able to pick his next destination.
There is interest in Salah from teams in Italy - with Roma and Juventus both thought to be ready to offer the two-time African footballer of the year a landing spot in Serie A.
Fenerbahce have also been listed as suitors - as have MLS side San Diego FC.
But the most likely spot that Salah will end up has always been the Saudi Pro League. As far back as 2023 teams in the SPL have been seeking a deal for Salah - with Liverpool rejecting a £150m bid from Al-Ittihad.

Liverpool will be kicking off the 2026/27 season without Mohamed Salah in their ranks.
The Egyptian King, 33, is bringing the curtain down on a glorious spell at Anfield - having reached an agreement to rip up his £400k per week contract one year early.
There has been much speculation about where Salah goes next - with European interest said to be represented by Juventus and Fenerbahce.
However the Saudi Pro League has always loomed in the background as the likeliest destination.
Al-Ittihad tried to sign the left-footed forward while he was under contract at Liverpool back in 2023. The Reds knocked back that bid and it was reported earlier this year that Al-Ittihad had drawn up a contract worth around £1.67m per week for Salah.