Yan Diomande’s move to Real Madrid reflects the long-held ambition of the teenage winger, after Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain both considered signing him before the Spanish club completed a deal worth up to £120m.
Liverpool were reportedly prepared to pay £86m to RB Leipzig for the Ivory Coast international, according to Liverpool Echo. However, RB Leipzig valued Diomande at more than £100m, prompting Liverpool to withdraw from negotiations.
The Premier League club’s interest was also complicated by the player’s preference for a move to Paris Saint-Germain, who are European champions. But when it became clear Paris Saint-Germain would not meet RB Leipzig’s asking price, Real Madrid stepped in earlier this month and secured the highly rated youngster.
Although Liverpool had been willing to invest heavily in the player, Diomande is now understood to have always regarded a move to the Santiago Bernabeu as his ultimate objective.
Michael Yormark, co-founder of Roc Nation Sports, the agency representing Diomande, said the player had made his ambitions clear during a conversation with his agent, Nathan Campbell.
“Nathan Campbell, Diomande’s agent, sat down with the Ivorian player and spoke to him about his dreams and ambitions,” Yormark said.
According to Yormark, Diomande responded: “I want to be the best player in the world, I want to win the Ballon d’Or, I want to win titles, and my biggest dream has always been to play for Real Madrid.”
Yormark said the agency then worked to create a strategy capable of turning those ambitions into reality, while assembling a wider team to support the player’s development and career.
“We had to put the right plan in place to achieve his dream. We built a team around this young player. This deal also represents a major moment for all of us. We took an ambitious young man and turned his ambition into reality,” he said.
The agreement with Real Madrid is worth a maximum of £120m, making it the defining move of Diomande’s career so far and ending a transfer process in which three major European clubs were linked with the player.
Campbell, Roc Nation’s head of global football talent acquisition, said the transfer was evidence of the work Diomande had put in to reach the highest level.
“This historic deal with Real Madrid is a testament to Yan’s incredible work ethic,” Campbell told SportsBoom.co.za.
He added: “We could not be prouder to have played a part in completing the biggest transfer deal for an African player in the history of football.”
The move means Diomande will begin the next stage of his career at Real Madrid, after the club moved decisively once Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain were unable to agree a fee with RB Leipzig.
