Aston Villa player just rejected chance to join Moussa Diaby at Al Ittihad, he’s ‘very happy’
Moussa Diaby showed plenty of flair during his only season at Aston Villa as they finished fourth in the 2023/24 campaign.
Diaby joined after impressing at Bayer Leverkusen and was in direct competition with Leon Bailey was a place in Unai Emery’s side.
Towards the end of his spell, the winger started to lose his place in the starting 11 and grew frustrated with his limited gametime.
Aston Villa managed to recoup the £50million they paid for Diaby, with the 26-year-old having pushed to make the move happen with a contract worth £20million a year on the table from Saudi club Al Ittihad.
Youri Tielemans turns down opportunity to join Al Ittihad
Diaby’s club, Al Ittihad showed plenty of interest in signing Youri Tielemans earlier in the summer.
Aston Villa have been open to selling key players this summer, with key departures such as the £40million sale of Jacob Ramsey.
However, talk around Tielemans’ future has died down in recent weeks, and losing Villa’s main man in midfield would have been costly.
- Tielemans played more progressive passes than any other Villa player last season
- He also won more tackles than any of his teammates
- He is one of the first names on Emery’s teamsheet, having started 35 of the 38 Premier League games in 2024/25
According to journalist Sacha Tavolieri on X, Tielemans definitely rejected the possibility of joining Al Ittihad Club.
The Belgian is ‘very happy’ in the West Midlands, and wants to stay in the Premier League.
In such a tough transfer environment, Emery will be happy with Tielemans’ decision to stay at Villa Park as signing a suitable replacement would have been a tough ask.
Unai Emery will love Youri Tielemans’ loyalty
Should he have left, Tielemans would likely have significantly increased his £150,000 weekly wage in Saudi Arabia.
Therefore, the Villa manager will value the Belgians’ loyalty, especially given his own situation when Emery departed Villarreal.
Prior to joining the Villans, the Spaniard turned down an opportunity to join Newcastle.
Speaking about the move at the time, he said: “No matter how much noise there was yesterday in another country, there was transparency and loyalty within Villarreal… Villarreal is my home and I am 100 percent committed to stay here.”
When Emery left Villarreal, he didn’t leave for money; he left for a new challenge in football, and the fact that Tielemans rejected extra money could make their relationship stronger.
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