Abdou Diallo on leaving PSG: “I wasn’t going to stay at the club to be of no use.” | OneFootball

In an interview with media outlet Carré, Senegal defender Abdou Diallo notably spoke about his reasons for leaving Paris Saint-Germain last summer, for a return to the Bundesliga, as he joined Leipzig.

Diallo was initially targeted by Milan after being placed on the Ligue 1 champions’ transfer list at the start of the summer, but instead opted for a return to Germany.

“I was going into the transfer window telling myself that I’d been at PSG for three years, there had been some great times. There’s a Champions League semi-final and a final, which are the two best campaigns in the club’s history. But there were much more difficult moments, where I was playing less, where I was injured or something else.”

“I felt like I was reaching the end of something and I wasn’t going to stay at the club to be of no use. And the transfer window, as long as the season hasn’t started, is the time when you have to think about your own interests. I wanted an important role in a project, to matter and to bring something to the table.”

“I was very demanding because I didn’t want to make a mistake. For me, Leipzig ticked all of the boxes: a good club with ambitions, with a big and stable project. They’re in the Champions League and competing at the top of the Bundesliga. I knew some players there already and I know the league, and I wanted to take a risk.”