Abdoulay Diaby joins Palm City on a permanent transfer
Diaby returns to the UAE with a career built across five countries and more than a decade at the top level.
He made his name at Club Brugge, where he scored 24 goals in 67 appearances and won the Belgian Pro League twice, in 2015/16 and 2017/18. That form earned a move to Sporting CP in 2018, with subsequent spells at Beşiktaş, Getafe and Anderlecht.
He knows this country well. Diaby spent two seasons with Al Jazira, scoring eleven goals, and also played for Ittihad Kalba. More recently he has played in Turkey, Portugal and Saudi Arabia, where he has been among the most productive forwards in his division this past season.
He has 31 caps and seven goals for Mali.
Diaby is a wide forward who plays straight at defenders. Pace, directness, a willingness to run in behind rather than around — in a division where space is often conceded late, that is a weapon.
Diaby joins a Palm City squad that won the domestic double in 2026 and is pursuing promotion to the ADNOC Pro League under new Head Coach Grégory Dufrennes.
Welcome to Palm City, Abdoulay.
