Assane Diao

Assane Diao
Diao with Senegal in 2026
Personal information
Full name Assane Diao[1]
Date of birth (2005-09-07) 7 September 2005
Place of birth Ndangane, Senegal[2]
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Position Winger
Team information
Current team
 Como
Number 11
Youth career
Badajoz
2019–2020 Flecha Negra
2020–2021 Balón de Cádiz
2021–2022 Betis
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2023 Betis B 25 (6)
2023–2025 Betis 28 (3)
2025– Como 33 (10)
International career‡
2023 Spain U18 2 (2)
2023–2024 Spain U19 11 (1)
2023 Spain U21 4 (0)
2025– Senegal 6 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Spain
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Winner2024 Northern Ireland
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 08:52, 27 August 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 26 June 2026

Assane Diao (born 7 September 2005) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Serie A club Como and the Senegal national team.

Club career

Betis

Diao is a youth product of Badajoz, Flecha Negra and Balón de Cádiz, before moving to the youth academy of Real Betis in 2021, on a contract until 2024.[4] Originally a midfielder, his attacking skills led to him being molded into a left winger, and he started playing with the reserves in the Segunda Federación in 2022.[5]

On 26 July 2023, Diao extended his contract with the club until 2027.[6] He made his senior and professional debut with the Verdiblancos as a late substitute in a 1–0 Europa League loss to Rangers on 21 September 2023.[7] Later that month, on 28 September, he scored his first goal on his La Liga debut in a 1–1 away draw against Granada.[8] A week later, on 5 October, he netted his first goal in European competitions in a 2–1 victory over Sparta Prague.[9] On 7 December, after coming on as a substitute, he scored his second La Liga goal, a 90+4' equalizer in a 2-2 draw against FC Barcelona.

Como

On 7 January 2025, Betis announced Diao's transfer to Serie A side Como 1907.[10][11] The fee was reported at around €12 million.[12] On 23 February 2025, Diao scored a 77th minute goal vs Napoli to secure a 2–1 win vs the league leaders. As a result, Inter Milan overtook Napoli in the table.[13]

International career

Born in Senegal, Diao moved to Spain at the age of three and has dual citizenship. He played for the nation's under-19 team at the 2023 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.[5]

On 19 March 2025, Diao's request to switch international allegiance to Senegal was approved by FIFA.[14]

On 21 May 2026, Diao was selected by Senegal's coach Pape Thiaw in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. [15]

Style of play

Originally a midfielder, Diao is a strong, and powerful winger who excels at crossing the ball. Primarily right-footed, he is strong with both feet. He has a powerful technique, and strong heading ability.[16]

Personal life

Diao has a twin brother, Ousseynou, who is also a youth footballer in Spain.[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 22 August 2026[17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Betis B 2022–23 Segunda Federación 204——204
2023–24 Segunda Federación 52——52
Total 256——256
Betis 2023–24 La Liga 182317[a]1284
2024–25 La Liga 101118[b]0192
Total 28342151476
Como 2024–25 Serie A 158——158
2025–26 Serie A 17230—202
2026–27 Serie A 1000—10
Total 331030—3610
Career total 86197215110822
  1. ↑ Five appearances in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  2. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Conference League

Honours

Spain U19

References

  1. ↑ "Squad List: FIFA World Cup 2026: Senegal (SEN)" (PDF). FIFA. 6 June 2026. p. 39. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  2. ↑ "Assane Diao causa impacto en el Real Madrid". Estadio Deportivo. 22 May 2023.
  3. ↑ "Assane Diao -". en.realbetisbalompie.es.
  4. ↑ Carbonero, Javi (30 March 2023). "Assane Diao: la reconversión en delantero del último canterano que se ha entrenado con Pellegrini". ElDesmarque.
  5. 1 2 Hall, Andy (6 July 2023). "Liverpool and Leipzig circling for Betis pearl Diao". Diario AS.
  6. ↑ "La mejor noticia posible con Assane Diao". Estadio Deportivo. 26 July 2023.
  7. ↑ "Assane Diao, un debut valiente". ABC de Sevilla. 22 September 2023.
  8. ↑ "Granada 1-1 Real Betis: Boyé y Diao dejan en tablas un entretenido partido en el Nuevo Los Cármenes" (in Spanish). OneFootball. 28 September 2023.
  9. ↑ "Real Betis 2-1 Sparta Prague". ESPN. 5 October 2023.
  10. ↑ "El Real Betis y el Como 1907 llegan a un acuerdo para el traspaso de Assane Diao" [Real Betis and Como 1907 reach an agreement for the transfer of Assane Diao] (in Spanish). Real Betis. 7 January 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  11. ↑ Ariadi, Nana (7 January 2025). "Como 1907: Official Club Statement". Como 1907. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  12. ↑ "Official: Como sign 19-year-old Diao from Real Betis". Yahoo Sports. 7 January 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  13. ↑ Young, Peter (23 February 2025). "Como 2-1 Napoli – Inter have Diao to thank". Football Italia. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  14. ↑ "FIFA Change of Association Platform". knowledge.fifa.com. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  15. ↑ "Mane named in Senegal's 26-man World Cup squad". 21 May 2026. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  16. 1 2 "Alerta en el Betis por Assane Diao". Estadio Deportivo. 29 March 2023.
  17. ↑ Assane Diao at Soccerway
  18. ↑ "2024 Under-19 EURO final: Spain 2-0 France". UEFA. 28 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
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