Raphaël Diarra (born 27 May 1995) is a French professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a defender for

Championnat National 2 The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of the French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligu ...

club Borgo. Diarra is a youth exponent from

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Fren ...

and has played for

Cercle Brugge Cercle Brugge Koninklijke Sportvereniging () is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges. Cercle have played in the Belgian Pro League since the 2003–04 season, having previously spent several years in the Belgian Second Division ...

, US Quevilly-Rouen and

Ashdod Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterra ...

before signing for Oldham. He has played in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

and been capped at a youth level for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Personal life

Diarra was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and has

French nationality French nationality law is historically based on the principles of ''jus soli'' (Latin for "right of soil") and ''jus sanguinis'', according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German definition of nationality, ''jus sanguinis'' ( ...

. He is of Malian descent. He is a devout muslim.

Club career

Monaco

Diarra came through the youth ranks of

and was placed into the B team. He played his first game for the B team in October 2013, in a 2–0 win against

Martigues Martigues ( in classical norm, ''Lou Martegue'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune northwest of Marseille. It is part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the eastern end of the Canal de Caronte. A ...

. He established himself as a regular starter for Monaco B and eventually he scored his first goal in November 2014, against

Rodez Rodez ( or ; oc, Rodés, ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat o ...

. Diarra made his debut for Monaco on 10 December 2015, in a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

game. He replaced Bernardo Silva after 65 minutes in a 4–1 away defeat against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

. After his loan spell with

, he continued playing for Monaco B.

Cercle Brugge (loan)

On 31 August 2016, Diarra joined Belgian side,

, on loan, until the end of the 2016–17 season. He played in 15 games, including a 3–1 win against

Tubize Tubize (; nl, Tubeke ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Tubize had a total population of 22,335. The total area is 32.66 km2 which gives a population density of 6 ...

, in which Diarra scored his second ever professional goal. In his last game for Cercle Brugge, Diarra was given two yellow cards and subsequently sent off as a result.

Ashdod

After spending another season with Monaco B, Diarra was sold to Israeli side,

. Diarra made no league appearance during his tenure but he was subbed on with 9 minutes remaining in a

Toto Cup Ligat Al The Israel Toto Cup ( he, גביע הטוטו, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League (Ligat Ha'Al), and the second division Liga Leumit. From ...

game against

Hapoel Hadera Hapoel Hadera–Giv'at Olga "Shulem Schwarz" F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל חדרה–גבעת אולגה שולם שוורץ) is an Israeli football club from Hadera. They currently play in the Israeli Premier League, and have ...

. He made no other appearances for Ashdod.

US Quevilly-Rouen

After a disappointing season with Ashdod, Diarra returned to France, where he joined US Quevilly-Rouen. He played one game for Quevilly B, which was a 1–1 draw against Pacy Ménilles. He made his debut for the first team a week later, in a 1–0 loss against Chambly Oise. Through his two years with the National 1 outfit, Diarra made 31 league appearances, as well as three cup appearances.

Oldham

On November 10, 2020, he signed for

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

until June 2021. He made his debut on the same day, in a 3–1 win to

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...

. In his first season, Diarra started in 16 league games and solidified his position in the team. He also partook in three cup games. Manager

Harry Kewell Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian association football coach, manager and former player. His most recent role as a club manager was at English National League side Barnet, and he is currently a first team coach at Celtic ...

utilised Diarra as both a midfielder and a defender throughout the season. On 12 March 2021, Oldham exercised an extension on Diarra's contract to keep him on for another season. Following the club's relegation to the National League, Diarra was released at the end of the 2021–22 season.

International career

Diarra could play for the Mali National Team or the France national U-21 team. Between 2013 and 2015, Diarra has been capped, at a youth level, a total of 8 times for

. At the time, Diarra was involved in the winner squad of the World Youth Festival Toulon.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diarra, Raphael 1995 births French sportspeople of Malian descent Footballers from Paris French Muslims Living people French men's footballers France men's youth international footballers Men's association football defenders AS Monaco FC players Cercle Brugge K.S.V. players US Quevilly-Rouen Métropole players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players FC Borgo players Championnat National 2 players Challenger Pro League players Championnat National 3 players Championnat National players English Football League players French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco French expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium French expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England