Amad Diallo: How Being Human Trafficked Made Him One of the Premier League’s Brightest Stars | OneFootball

Amad Diallo’s story is incredible. Trafficked into Italy as a child, his journey began in the most challenging of circumstances. Yet, through hard work, determination, and undeniable talent, he has quickly become one of Manchester United’s most exciting players. From his first steps in Italian football to his big move to Old Trafford, Amad’s path has been anything but ordinary.

Now, the Ivorian winger has made history, becoming the youngest player to score a Premier League hat trick for the Red Devils at Old Trafford. It’s a feat that cements his place among the club’s rising stars and raises the question: how has Amad managed to thrive under the brightest lights of football’s biggest stage?

How Amad Diallo Was Human Trafficked

Born in 2002, Amad Diallo had very little money to his name. Growing up in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, the young star quickly gained a reputation as a fantastic talent with bags of potential.

At just 13 years of age, Amad moved to Italy to join Boca Barco’s academy before being picked up by Atalanta’s youth system, where he made a name for himself as an up-and-coming Serie A talent. In the academy, Amad managed to win two Campionato Primavera 1 titles, a prestigious youth tournament in Italian football. He made his debut for the Nerazzurri in 2019 and made a great first impression with a goal on his debut.

However, Amad’s relocation to Italy at a young age was not as natural as it first seemed. After his big transfer to Manchester United, it was first reported that Amad Diallo was part of a trafficking scheme. This saw him move into Italy as a child, alongside another footballer named Hamed Traoré and three other young footballers using fake family reunification visas.

Investigators confirmed Diallo and the other children were not related to his supposed ‘parents’, Hamed Mamadou Traore and his wife Edwige Teher. Despite being a minor at the time of the trafficking, Amad was fined €42,000 by the Italian FA for using fake documents to join Boca Barco and Atalanta.

From Bergamo Blue to Mancunian Red

As the 2020/2021 season approached, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United were in search of a right winger to bolster their attack after securing a 3rd-place finish the previous campaign. Their top target was Jadon Sancho, the electrifying English winger who had taken the Bundesliga by storm. During the 2019/20 season, Sancho had racked up an incredible 17 goals and 16 assists in just 32 league appearances, cementing his reputation as one of Europe’s most exciting young talents.

Man United’s pursuit of Sancho dominated the summer transfer window, but their hopes were dashed as Borussia Dortmund stood firm on their steep valuation, refusing to compromise. With no deal agreed, the Red Devils found themselves empty-handed as the transfer deadline loomed, their marquee signing had slipped out of reach.

The Red Devils knew they needed to save the window and brought in three attackers. On the final day of the window, Edinson Cavani joined the club on a free transfer as an experienced striker looking to improve United’s attack. Two young wingers struck a deal with the English giants as well: Facundo Pellistri joined the club from Uruguay, and Amad Diallo was bought by the club for €21.3 million, with further potential add-ons to raise the deal €37 million.

Amad, however, would only join the squad in January 2021 due to work permit formalities, leaving fans intrigued by the high price tag and potential of the relatively unknown teenager.

Off the Mark for Man United

When Manchester United announced the signing of Amad, scepticism swept across social media and pundit panels alike. Many dismissed the move as a ‘panic buy’, with critics pointing to the hefty price tag attached to a teenager who had yet to cement himself as a first-team regular at Atalanta. The whispers of doubt were deafening: was this another case of United overspending on potential? For a player who had made just a handful of senior appearances, the spotlight on Amad Diallo was harsh and unrelenting. Something that has now become common for Man United.

Despite the scepticism, Amad quietly began to make his mark in United’s youth set-up, showcasing his silky skills and eye for goal. He earned sporadic opportunities with the senior team, often coming off the bench to inject creativity and energy into matches. Then, in March 2021, came the moment that silenced some doubters. Against AC Milan in the Europa League, Amad scored a stunning backwards looped header—a goal that showed audacity with technical brilliance. It was a brief glimpse into the talent that United had gambled on, and it hinted at a bright future for the young Ivorian.

Struggles in Scotland to Sunderland’s Hero

After failing to get as many minutes on the pitch as he would have liked, Diallo went on loan to Rangers, where he had the dream start. Bagging a goal on his debut, and making an instant impression, but after falling out of the Rangers’ lineup he struggled for game time for the Scottish giant. Amad made just 10 appearances and netted just three goals. A low point for the forward was being substituted at half time in the Old Firm derby.

After a difficult spell at Rangers, it felt as though Amad Diallo’s next loan move would be a make or break for his Manchester United career. Sunderland went in for Amad to take the winger on loan, giving him a massive chance to finally get some key minutes under his belt. And Diallo did not fail to disappoint; he was one of the most exciting footballers to watch in the Championship and scored 13 goals from 37 appearances. Alex Scott just edged Amad to the Championship Young Player of the Season award, but became a fan favourite at Sunderland and made a name for himself in English football.

The next question was, will Amad get a chance at his parent club, Manchester United?

After suffering a serious injury in pre-season before United’s 2023/24 season, the Ivorian’s progress was halted with a massive setback after it looked as though a breakthrough was imminent. Amad’s first minutes of the season came in February, as he started to make a few cameos off the bench for Erik Ten Hag’s side.

THAT Goal Against Liverpool

On the 17th of March 2024, Amad made just his third appearance of the season and possibly the biggest of his career thus far. United were facing Liverpool at Old Trafford in the FA Cup Quarter Final, and as United were trailing by a goal with the score standing at 3-2 to the visitors, Ten Hag chose Amad to come onto the pitch with just five minutes left of the 90.

Man Utd found an equaliser just two minutes after Diallo came on to take the game to extra time. After a goal from Harvey Elliott and Marcus Rashford in added time, the score was level at 3-3, and in stoppage time in the second half of extra time, not even Amad could have dreamed the ending.

Manchester United broke through on a counterattack, and after Alejandro Garnacho squared the ball to Amad Diallo, he got the winner against United’s bitter rivals. Amad raced away in celebrations and took off his shirt to show Old Trafford the name on the back of his shirt to remind them of the talent they had on their hands; unfortunately for Diallo, he was already on a yellow and was subsequently sent off. Not the worst way to get a red card, however.

After igniting his Manchester United career, Amad got more minutes in April and May and was quite unlucky to not make an appearance in United’s FA Cup final triumph against Manchester City, but at this stage it looked like the only way was up going into the 2024/25 season.

After an impressive pre-season, Amad was the starting winger for Ten Hag’s side and started the first three games of the season, picking up a goal against Brighton, which he celebrated in memory of his mother, who passed away earlier in the week. Diallo started to struggle for game time later into the season and with less than a year left on his contract, a move away didn’t look out of the realms of possibility.

Life Under Amorim

After Erik Ten Hag left the club, Ruud Van Nistelrooy came in as an interim manager and started to give Amad opportunities. After making two appearances off the bench in the Carabao Cup against Leicester and against Chelsea in the Premier League. He started in a Europa League game against PAOK; Diallo got a brace and followed it up with an assist against Leicester in the league.

After Ruben Amorim joined the club as head coach, Amad became a starter for Manchester United and has already scored some seriously important goals. Diallo has got a last-minute winner in the Manchester Derby at the Etihad—that classic now known as ‘The Diallo Derby’—a goal and assist against Spurs, and a crucial equaliser at Anfield against Liverpool. Diallo has become a star and also recently signed a new deal at the club to keep him on the red side of Manchester until 2030.

After bagging a Premier League hat-trick against Southampton, it looks like the only way is up for the skilled attacker, who today is possibly United’s most valuable asset. As Manchester United look to go under another rebuild since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure, it seems like Amad Diallo will be a key part of the project.