As Bordeaux preferred to field more experienced strikers, manager Laurent Blanc loaned Diabaté out to the Corsica-based and Ligue 2 club AC Ajaccio to enable him to get more playing time.

Diabaté made his debut for AC Ajaccio in their opening match of the 2008–09 Ligue 2 season, in a loss to Châteauroux, playing the full 90 minutes.

[6] Diabaté's positive play continued throughout the season scoring important match-winning goals in Ligue 2 matches against Guingamp,[7] Lens,[8] Angers,[9] and Boulogne.

Diabaté scored two goals in the final of the 2013 Coupe de France to help Bordeaux defeat Evian TG 3–2.

[16][17] Diabaté helped Metz avoid relegation scoring eight goals in 14 matches and the club expressed interest in signing him permanently in June 2017.

Diabaté debuted for the club on 13 October, coming on as 85th-minute substitute for Jürgen Locadia in a league match against Mes Rafsanjan.

[39] Less than a month after that tournament, he made his senior debut against Liberia in a 2006 World Cup qualifier 5 June 2005, coming on as an 85th-minute substitute for Dramane Coulibaly; Mali won the match 4–1.

He finished the tournament as one of the top scorers, having netted three goals in total, including two in the third place play-off against Ghana on 11 February 2012, which Mali won 2–0.