long-term. After finishing the season, on 24 June 2005, Liverpool granted his request after Lens reached an agreement with the club on a transfer fee, purported to be €3.2 million. Diarra finished his Liverpool career with no first-team appearances and only one club appearance, which came in a pre-season friendly. Diarra remained a starter at Lens and also retained his consistency appearing in a career-high 44 matches, scoring two goals, and providing four assists. His two goals came in a 2–1 away win over Nancy and a 2–2 draw with Nice. Diarra also played European football for the first time in his career playing in the 2005–06 edition of the UEFA Cup. He made his European debut on 3 July 2005 in a UEFA Intertoto Cup second round tie against Polish club Lech Poznań. Diarra ultimately appeared in ten matches in the club's European campaign as Lens reached the Round of 32 where the club was defeated 3–1 on aggregate by Italian outfit Udinese. Lyon Following the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Diarra was linked with a move to the then five-time defending champions Lyon where he could reunite with former manager Gérard Houllier. On 23 August 2006, the move came to fruition following the departure of Diarra's namesake, Mahamadou, who moved to Spanish club Real Madrid for a fee of €26 million. The transfer fee was priced at €6.25 million and Diarra was assigned the number 18 shirt. Diarra struggled to make an impact at the club as Houllier preferred the younger Jérémy Toulalan and Tiago Mendes as his starting defensive midfielder and box-to-box midfielder, respectively. He made his club debut late in the season on 16 September 2006 in the team's 3–1 away win over Lorient. Diarra scored his first goal for the club on 6 December 2006 in the club's final UEFA Champions League group stage match against Romanian club Steaua București. The match ended in a 1–1 draw. Two weeks later, he scored his second goal in the team's 3–1 win over Nancy in the Coupe de la Ligue quarterfinals. Following the winter break, Diarra struggled with a thigh injury and didn't appear with the team for almost three months. In March 2007, he finally returned to the team in its 3–1 win over Derby du Rhône rivals Saint-Étienne appearing as a substitute. During the season, Diarra complained twice with regards to playing time, which led to