Abdoulaye Diallo (born 30 March 1992) is a former professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He is a graduate of the Clairefontaine Academy and joined Rennes in 2007. Diallo made his professional debut, at the age of 17, on 29 November 2009, in a league match against Lyon. Born in France, he represented that nation's under-20 team, before switching to Senegal, representing his parents' country of birth.
Club career Early career Diallo began his football career playing for his hometown club Stade Reims, joining the club as a youth player. In 2004, he was selected to attend the Clairefontaine academy and spent three years at the facility training at the academy during the weekdays and playing for Reims on the weekend. He was the youngest player in his class and the only one born in 1992. Prior to leaving Clairefontaine, Diallo agreed to join the nationally recognized youth academy of Stade Rennais on an aspirant (youth) contract. Rennes had been scouting the player since 2004.
Rennes Diallo joined Rennes and was among a host of internationally recognized youth talents the club had comprised. These talents included youth internationals Elliot Sorin, Wesley Yamnaine, Jérémy Helan, who played for Manchester City in England, Abdoulaye Doucouré, and Axel Ngando. Diallo initially joined the club's under-18 team who were playing in their own league, the under-18 Championnat National. Rennes finished in 4th-place position, missing out on the playoffs. The 2008–09 season saw Diallo earn a place in the club's Coupe Gambardella team with the club attempting to defend their title from the previous season. In the tournament, the goalkeeper appeared in three matches and conceded four goals. Rennes suffered elimination in the Round of 16 losing to Le Havre.
Diallo was promoted to the club's Championnat de France amateur team for the 2009–10 season. He made his debut on 15 August 2009, earning a clean sheet in the team's 2–0 victory over US Sénart-Moissy. Diallo appeared in four more matches, before earning a call-up to the senior team on 20 November by manager Frédéric Antonetti for their league match against Le Mans in place of injured backup goalkeeper Cheikh N'Diaye. Antonetti preferred the 17-year-old ahead of Patrice Luzi and Florent Petit, the third and fourth goalkeeper, respectively. Diallo appeared on the bench in the Le Mans match, with Rennes earning a 2–1 victory. The following week, Diallo was named the starting goalkeeper for the club's league match against Lyon, almost an hour before the match was set to be played, due to an injury picked up by starting goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez the previous day. Diallo started the match and played the entire 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw, making spectacular saves, including an important save in the 88th minute off a shot by Bafétimbi Gomis.
On 18 April 2010, Diallo signed his first professional contract, agreeing to a three-year deal.
Gençlerbirliği On 28 June 2019, Diallo signed with Turkish club Gençlerbirliği.
Nottingham Forest Following his release from Gençlerbirliği, Diallo joined EFL Championship side Nottingham Forest on 14 September 2020.
International career Diallo was called up to the Senegal national team for the first time in March 2015, for the friendly matches against Ghana and Le Havre on 28 March and 31 March 2015.
In May 2018, Diallo was named in the Senegal national team's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He also participated in the 2017 and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsRennes II2010–11CFA180———1802012–13CFA 2100———1002013–14CFA 280———802015–16CFA 230———302018–19Championnat National 320———20Total410———410Rennes2009–10Ligue 1100000—102010–11Ligue 1000000—002011–12Ligue 110001010302012–13Ligue 1001010—202013–14Ligue 1000000—002014–15Ligue 1000000—002015–16Ligue 1700020—902016–17Ligue 1000000—002017–18Ligue 1301040—802018–19Ligue 16000003090Total180208040320Le Havre (loan)2013–14Ligue 21600000—1602014–15Ligue 23400010—350Total5000010—510Çaykur Rizespor (loan)2016–17Süper Lig19000——190Gençlerbirliği2019–20Süper Lig4010——50Nottingham Forest2020–21Championship000000—00Nancy2022–23Championnat National2000——20Career total13403090401500
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSenegal201550201640201760201820Total170
Honours Rennes Coupe de France: 2018–19
France U19 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship: 2010
Senegal Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2019
References
External links Abdoulaye Diallo profile at staderennais.com