Moussa Diaby has reportedly surrendered approximately £13 million in wages to engineer a return to Bayer Leverkusen, according to Birmingham Live. The 27-year-old pushed hard to leave Al-Ittihad during the summer window, which closed on 1 September, ultimately securing a switch back to the Bundesliga side where he first made his name.
Citing the German publication BILD, Birmingham Live states that the winger walked away from a contract that ran until 2029, accepting only partial compensation for terminating his deal early. When negotiations appeared close to collapsing late in the window, Diaby allegedly made it clear he would not be returning to Jeddah under any circumstances.
Leverkusen are said to have paid around £25.7 million to bring the Paris-born attacker back to the BayArena. That figure represents roughly half of what Aston Villa received when they sold him to the Saudi Pro League following his solitary campaign in the West Midlands.
Diaby joined Villa in 2023 but remained at the club for only twelve months. During that spell under Unai Emery, he found the net half a dozen times in domestic competition while also creating ten goals for his teammates across the Premier League season.
His subsequent stint in Saudi Arabia proved productive, with nine league goals and 23 assists recorded over two campaigns for Al-Ittihad. He will now attempt to replicate the form he showed during his initial four-year stay in Germany, where he registered 49 goals and 47 assists across all competitions in 172 appearances between 2019 and 2023.
His new deal with Leverkusen runs until 2031. Villa, meanwhile, have moved on entirely, with John McGinn recently deployed on the right flank and scoring in Tuesday's 3-2 Champions League victory over Club Brugge as the club prepares for their next Premier League fixture against Nottingham Forest.
