Junior Diaz (footballer, born 2003)
Footballer (born 2003)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michel Junior Diaz (born 23 July 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Ligue 1 club Troyes. Born in France, he plays for the Ivory Coast national team.
|
Diaz in a press conference with Troyes in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michel Junior Diaz | ||
| Date of birth | 23 July 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Saint-Herblain, France | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Troyes | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012-2022 | Nantes | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2024 | Nantes B | 29 | (2) |
| 2022–2024 | Nantes | 0 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Annecy (loan) | 20 | (0) |
| 2024– | Troyes | 34 | (0) |
| 2025–2026 | → Brest (loan) | 20 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2023-2023 | Ivory Coast Olympic | 5 | (0) |
| 2025– | Ivory Coast | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19 May 2026 | |||
Club career
Diaz was a youth player of Nantes. He joined Nantes' youth team in 2012, playing in the academy for ten years and winning the 2022 Under-19 league title under manager Pierre Aristouy.[citation needed]
During the 2022–23 season, Diaz started training with Nantes' first team and made his senior debut in a Coupe de France match against AF Virois, on 7 January 2023.[1]
On 30 August 2023, Diaz joined Ligue 2 side Annecy on loan.[2][3] Benched in the first matches of the season, on 26 September 2023, he made his Ligue 2 debut against Auxerre.[4] Diaz immediately started get more space in the club's roster, becoming a starter.[5] At the end of the season, he had a cumulative number of 22 appearances.[6]
Back from the loan, on 8 August he joined Troyes on a permanent transfer.[7][8] The transfer reportedly commanded a fee of almost €2.5 million.[9] On 16 August, he made his club debut in a 4–0 loss against Guingamp.[10]
International career
Junior Diaz has represented Ivory Coast at youth international level, having played for the Olympic team.[citation needed]
Personal life
Diaz is the brother of Hillary Diaz.[12]
Career statistics
- As of match played 20 December 2024[13]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nantes | 2021–22 | National 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | National 2 | 24 | 1 | — | — | — | 24 | 1 | ||||
| 2023–24 | National 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 26 | 2 | — | — | — | 26 | 2 | ||||||
| Nantes | 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Annecy (loan) | 2023–24 | Ligue 2 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| Troyes | 2024–25 | Ligue 2 | 27 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 73 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 79 | 2 | ||
- Including appearances in Coupe de France.
