# Habib Diallo
**Habib Diallo** (full name Mouhamadou Habibou Diallo, born 1995 in Thiès, Senegal) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a center-forward for [Le Mans](https://www.edgepedia.org/le-mans) in [Ligue 1](https://www.edgepedia.org/ligue-1) and for the Senegal national team, with which he has won the [Africa Cup of Nations](https://www.edgepedia.org/africa-cup-of-nations) in 2021 and 2025[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/habib-diallo/200961) • [2](https://www.fcmetz.com/articles/habib-diallo-rejoint-le-mans). Standing 1.86 m and weighing 79 kg, he built his reputation as a penalty-area finisher in French football, first with FC Metz and then RC Strasbourg, before a spell in Saudi Arabia with Al-Shabab and a return to Metz[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/habib-diallo/200961) • [3](https://www.transfermarkt.com/habib-diallo/transfers/spieler/344888/transfer_id/4581951).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1995, Thiès, Senegal; 1.86 m, 79 kg, right-footed center-forward[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/habib-diallo/200961) • [4](https://theanalyst.com/players/6800/habib-diallo/national) |
| Youth and formation | Génération Foot academy (2006–2013), the partner academy of FC Metz, based at Deni Biram Ndao[3](https://www.transfermarkt.com/habib-diallo/transfers/spieler/344888/transfer_id/4581951) • [2](https://www.fcmetz.com/articles/habib-diallo-rejoint-le-mans) |
| Breakthrough | 26 goals in Ligue 2 in 2018/19, the league's second top scorer, as Metz won promotion and the 2019 second-division title[5](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/player-analysis/habib-diallo-201920-scout-report-tactical-analysis-tactics) • [1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/habib-diallo/200961) |
| Record transfers | Strasbourg signed him for €10 million plus bonuses in October 2020, a club record; Al-Shabab bought him for €18 million (€20 million with bonuses) in August 2023[6](https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Transferts-habib-diallo-metz-signe-pour-cinq-ans-a-strasbourg/1180320) • [7](https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Transferts-habib-diallo-quitte-strasbourg-pour-l-arabie-saoudite/1413230) |
| Metz totals | 143 appearances, 52 goals and 16 assists across his two spells, placing him among the club's leading scorers[2](https://www.fcmetz.com/articles/habib-diallo-rejoint-le-mans) |
| Senegal | 40 caps, 9 goals; Africa Cup of Nations winner 2021 and 2025[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/habib-diallo/200961) |
| Current club | Le Mans, newly promoted to Ligue 1, announced 1 September 2026[2](https://www.fcmetz.com/articles/habib-diallo-rejoint-le-mans) |
## Formation and first years at Metz
Diallo came through the Génération Foot academy in Senegal, which has operated a partnership with [FC Metz](https://www.edgepedia.org/fc-metz) since 2003 and has also produced players such as [Sadio Mané](https://www.edgepedia.org/sadio-mane) and [Ismaïla Sarr](https://www.edgepedia.org/ismaila-sarr)[5](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/player-analysis/habib-diallo-201920-scout-report-tactical-analysis-tactics). He arrived in France in the summer of 2013 and signed his first professional contract with Metz two years later, in 2015[2](https://www.fcmetz.com/articles/habib-diallo-rejoint-le-mans).
His first spell at Metz lasted seven years, interrupted by an 18-month loan to Stade Brestois in Brittany from January 2017 to June 2018[2](https://www.fcmetz.com/articles/habib-diallo-rejoint-le-mans). After good performances in Brest, he returned for the 2018/19 season and scored 26 goals in [Ligue 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/ligue-2), finishing as the division's second top scorer and playing a major part in Metz's promotion to Ligue 1[5](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/player-analysis/habib-diallo-201920-scout-report-tactical-analysis-tactics). Metz won the 2019 Ligue 2 championship[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/habib-diallo/200961).
## Breakthrough season in Ligue 1
The 2019/20 season established Diallo as a Ligue 1 striker. He scored 12 goals, the fifth-highest total in the league, in a Metz side fighting relegation[5](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/player-analysis/habib-diallo-201920-scout-report-tactical-analysis-tactics). A tactical analysis of that season recorded that he scored 44.4 percent of his team's goals, the highest share of any top scorer among the 20 Ligue 1 clubs, and that Metz had the lowest total expected goals (xG) in the league at 24.65[5](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/player-analysis/habib-diallo-201920-scout-report-tactical-analysis-tactics).
His profile that season was that of a pure finisher. All 12 of his Ligue 1 goals, including one penalty, were scored inside the penalty area; he averaged 2.64 shots per 90 minutes with 47.8 percent on target, and scored five goals with his right foot, four with his left and three with his head[5](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/player-analysis/habib-diallo-201920-scout-report-tactical-analysis-tactics). The same analysis noted his physical ball protection and back-to-goal play, and that he scored seven goals from situations worth under 0.2 xG each[5](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/player-analysis/habib-diallo-201920-scout-report-tactical-analysis-tactics).
## Strasbourg and the move to Saudi Arabia
On 5 October 2020, in the final hours of the transfer window, [Strasbourg](https://www.edgepedia.org/strasbourg) signed Diallo from Metz on a five-year contract for about €10 million plus bonuses, the largest incoming transfer in the club's history[6](https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Transferts-habib-diallo-metz-signe-pour-cinq-ans-a-strasbourg/1180320). The move was controversial among Metz supporters because of the regional rivalry between the two clubs, and a leaked voice message from the player added to the friction[8](https://www.eurosport.fr/football/ligue-1/2020-2021/diallo-a-strasbourg-l-histoire-d-un-transfert-polemique_sto7953923/story.shtml).
His best season came in 2022/23, when he scored 20 goals in Ligue 1[7](https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Transferts-habib-diallo-quitte-strasbourg-pour-l-arabie-saoudite/1413230). Across three seasons at Strasbourg he made 100 league appearances, scoring 40 goals with 5 assists in 6,742 minutes[9](https://fbref.com/en/players/6605d143/Habib-Diallo). In August 2023, with two years left on his contract, Strasbourg sold him to the Saudi club Al-Shabab; L'Équipe reported the fee as €20 million including bonuses, while Transfermarkt and BeSoccer record €18 million[7](https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Transferts-habib-diallo-quitte-strasbourg-pour-l-arabie-saoudite/1413230) • [3](https://www.transfermarkt.com/habib-diallo/transfers/spieler/344888/transfer_id/4581951) • [10](https://www.besoccer.com/player/transfers/h-diallo-224422). Under FIFA's solidarity mechanism, part of the fee was redistributed to his training clubs, with FC Metz due about €630,000[11](https://sportune.20minutes.fr/sport-business/football/rc-strasbourg-ce-que-le-transfert-de-habib-diallo-doit-rapporter-au-fc-metz-312259). French media reported his salary at Al-Shabab at €6 million per year, about five times his Strasbourg earnings[12](https://walf-groupe.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/WALF-24.pdf).
He spent the 2024/25 first half on loan at Damac FC in the same league, returning to Al-Shabab at the end of December 2024[10](https://www.besoccer.com/player/transfers/h-diallo-224422).
## Return to Metz and Le Mans
On 31 August 2025, Diallo returned to FC Metz on a free transfer, five years after leaving[10](https://www.besoccer.com/player/transfers/h-diallo-224422) • [13](https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Le-fc-metz-et-al-shabab-ont-trouve-un-accord-pour-le-transfert-d-habib-diallo/1587615). In his second spell he played 27 matches, scored 4 goals and provided 2 assists, taking his career totals for the club to 143 appearances, 52 goals and 16 assists, a record that places him among Metz's leading historical scorers[2](https://www.fcmetz.com/articles/habib-diallo-rejoint-le-mans).
On 1 September 2026, Metz announced his departure to Le Mans, a club newly promoted to Ligue 1[2](https://www.fcmetz.com/articles/habib-diallo-rejoint-le-mans).
## International career with Senegal
Diallo has earned 40 caps for Senegal, scoring 9 goals[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/habib-diallo/200961). He was a member of the squads that won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021 and 2025[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/habib-diallo/200961). At the 2023 tournament in Côte d'Ivoire he was named in Senegal's squad as number 20 of Al-Shabab[14](https://www.cafonline.com/media/szzh20fx/afcon-2023-provisional-squads-list.pdf), and he scored in the fourth minute of Senegal's round-of-16 match against the hosts, which ended 1–1 before Côte d'Ivoire advanced 5–4 on penalties[15](https://www.cafonline.com/media/lm2i2arq/m42-sen-v-civ-post-match-report.pdf). His most recent international goal came in an Africa Cup of Nations match against Benin in December 2025[4](https://theanalyst.com/players/6800/habib-diallo/national).
## Playing style
Scouting analysis from his Metz years describes Diallo as a striker in the traditional mold: strong in ball protection with his 1.86 m frame, effective with his back to goal, and involved little in build-up play, averaging 13.84 passes per 90 minutes[5](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/player-analysis/habib-diallo-201920-scout-report-tactical-analysis-tactics). His value lay in finishing and movement inside the box, where he used few touches efficiently, 2.99 touches in the penalty area per 90 compared with 6.58 for [Wissam Ben Yedder](https://www.edgepedia.org/wissam-ben-yedder), who scored 18 goals that season[5](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/player-analysis/habib-diallo-201920-scout-report-tactical-analysis-tactics).
## References
1. [Habib Diallo, fiche joueur, L'Équipe](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/habib-diallo/200961)
2. [Habib Diallo rejoint Le Mans, FC Metz (1 September 2026)](https://www.fcmetz.com/articles/habib-diallo-rejoint-le-mans)
3. [Habib Diallo, transfer history, Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.com/habib-diallo/transfers/spieler/344888/transfer_id/4581951)
4. [Habib Diallo International Career, Opta Analyst](https://theanalyst.com/players/6800/habib-diallo/national)
5. [Habib Diallo 2019/20 – scout report, Total Football Analysis](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/player-analysis/habib-diallo-201920-scout-report-tactical-analysis-tactics)
6. [Transferts : Habib Diallo (Metz) signe pour cinq ans à Strasbourg, L'Équipe (5 October 2020)](https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Transferts-habib-diallo-metz-signe-pour-cinq-ans-a-strasbourg/1180320)
7. [Transferts : Habib Diallo quitte Strasbourg pour l'Arabie saoudite, L'Équipe (12 August 2023)](https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Transferts-habib-diallo-quitte-strasbourg-pour-l-arabie-saoudite/1413230)
8. [Habib Diallo à Strasbourg, l'histoire d'un transfert polémique, Eurosport](https://www.eurosport.fr/football/ligue-1/2020-2021/diallo-a-strasbourg-l-histoire-d-un-transfert-polemique_sto7953923/story.shtml)
9. [Habib Diallo Stats, FBref](https://fbref.com/en/players/6605d143/Habib-Diallo)
10. [Habib Diallo's transfers history, BeSoccer](https://www.besoccer.com/player/transfers/h-diallo-224422)
11. [RC Strasbourg: ce que le transfert de Habib Diallo doit rapporter au FC Metz, Sportune (20 Minutes)](https://sportune.20minutes.fr/sport-business/football/rc-strasbourg-ce-que-le-transfert-de-habib-diallo-doit-rapporter-au-fc-metz-312259)
12. [WALF Fadilu Yalla, 24 May 2025 (PDF)](https://walf-groupe.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/WALF-24.pdf)
13. [Le FC Metz et Al-Shabab ont trouvé un accord pour le transfert d'Habib Diallo, L'Équipe (25 August 2025)](https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Le-fc-metz-et-al-shabab-ont-trouve-un-accord-pour-le-transfert-d-habib-diallo/1587615)
14. [AFCON 2023 provisional squads list, CAF](https://www.cafonline.com/media/szzh20fx/afcon-2023-provisional-squads-list.pdf)
15. [Match summary, Senegal v Côte d'Ivoire, AFCON 2023, CAF](https://www.cafonline.com/media/lm2i2arq/m42-sen-v-civ-post-match-report.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of Africa › West African footballers › Footballers of Senegal, Mali, and Guinea*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license