According to our colleagues at L’Equipe, Mahamadou Diaby is preparing for a change of scenery earlier than expected. The Perpignan back-rower and the Catalan club have reached an agreement to terminate the one-year deal that tied them together, clearing the way for the player to move to Montpellier immediately as a medical joker.

Having arrived at USAP last summer from Bordeaux-Bègles, the 35-year-old will not see out the season in Catalonia. According to several concurring sources, he should play one last match in the blood-and-gold colours before heading to the Hérault in the coming days.

13 team sheets this season with Usap

Montpellier had been urgently searching for back-row reinforcement since the serious left knee injury to Australia international Langi Gleeson, who ruptured his cruciate ligaments in January and faces a long spell out.

Diaby arrives with an experienced profile and can slot straight in. Used thirteen times across all competitions this season with Perpignan, including eight starts, he will bring his physical presence and his knowledge of the top level to a Montpellier squad that is gradually gaining substance.

A former Oyonnax, Grenoble and, above all, Bordeaux-Bègles man, with whom he won the Champions Cup in 2025, the Bagnolet native has made his name as a hard-nosed back-rower renowned for his defensive impact and his work rate.