Yan Diomande is poised to become the most expensive African footballer in history and the first Ivorian to play for Real Madrid, as the Spanish giants prepare to complete a transfer worth more than €100m from RB Leipzig in the coming days.
The Ivory Coast international, who broke through in the Bundesliga last season, will be the 10th African player to wear the famous white shirt of Real Madrid’s first team. He is set to link up with Brahim Diaz in the squad now coached by Jose Mourinho.
Only a small number of African players have appeared for Real Madrid in the club’s long and decorated history. Here are the nine who have done so before Diomande.
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)
Achraf Hakimi came through Real Madrid’s academy and made his senior debut in the 2017-18 season. Playing at right-back, he featured 17 times in all competitions and scored once before competition for places pushed him out of the picture.
He subsequently left on loan to Borussia Dortmund for two seasons, then joined Inter Milan and later Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. When he first appeared for Real Madrid he was still a teenager, far from the established global star he is today. Almost every transfer window brings fresh speculation about a possible return to the Bernabeu for the Morocco international, nicknamed the Lion of the Atlas, but such a move has not materialised.
Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
Long before Samuel Eto’o became a legend at Barcelona, he had an early and largely forgotten spell at their great rivals. Between 1998 and 2000, the Cameroon striker played seven matches for Real Madrid without scoring, having arrived as a 17-year-old.
Unable to break into a star-studded attack, he was loaned to Mallorca in January 2000, where his career took off. His subsequent exploits at Barcelona and Inter Milan, including multiple Champions League triumphs, would define him as one of Africa’s greatest forwards, but his Real Madrid chapter was brief and low key.
Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo)
Emmanuel Adebayor, now retired, was regarded as one of the leading strikers of his generation, particularly for his spells at Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham. He also enjoyed a short but notable stint at Real Madrid.
Joining on loan from Manchester City in January 2011, the Togo international scored eight goals in 22 appearances across all competitions. Despite that respectable return, Real Madrid chose not to trigger the purchase option at the end of the campaign, with Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain already competing for the centre-forward position.
Brahim Diaz (Morocco)
Brahim Diaz’s Real Madrid career has come in two phases. His first spell between 2019 and 2020 was relatively quiet, but a successful three-year loan at AC Milan helped him return to the Bernabeu as a more mature attacking midfielder.
Since coming back, he has not been an undisputed starter amid intense competition for places, yet he has regularly made an impact off the bench and during squad rotation, adding creativity, dribbling and occasional decisive goals. During this second spell in Madrid, Brahim made a key choice at international level: after representing Spain at youth level and making one senior appearance for La Roja, he opted in 2024 to play for Morocco, swayed by the project of the Atlas Lions and his family roots. The decision enhanced his standing among Moroccan supporters and his Real Madrid displays have underlined his ability to influence matches even without constant starts.
Geremi Njitap (Cameroon)
Geremi Njitap may not have been among the most high-profile Galacticos, but he put together an impressive career. The versatile midfielder represented Real Madrid from 1999 to 2003, playing 108 matches and scoring three goals.
Despite being part of a squad that won the Champions League in 2000 and 2002, the Cameroon international did not feature in either of those finals. After leaving the Spanish capital, he went on to play for Middlesbrough, Chelsea – where he spent four seasons – and Newcastle United, before finishing his career with Ankaragucu in Turkey and Larissa in Greece.
Michael Essien (Ghana)
Michael Essien, who had previously played for Lyon, is best remembered for his time at Chelsea, where he made 256 appearances and scored 24 goals between 2005 and 2014, winning the Champions League in 2012. The following season he joined Real Madrid on loan.
During his sole campaign in Spain, the Ghana midfielder featured 35 times and scored three goals. Although his performances were solid, Real Madrid ended the season as La Liga runners-up and Copa del Rey finalists, and the club chose not to exercise the purchase option on the Black Star.
Mahamadou Diarra (Mali)
After four accomplished seasons at Lyon, Mahamadou Diarra moved to Real Madrid in the summer of 2006. He stayed for four and a half years and made 125 appearances, scoring four goals, but never entirely secured a permanent starting role.
Brought in amid expectations he would fill the void left by Claude Makelele’s departure to Chelsea three years earlier, the Mali midfielder struggled to reach that benchmark. However, he did score a crucial goal on the final day of the 2006-07 La Liga season, a strike that helped Real Madrid clinch the league title.
Valdo (Cape Verde)
Attacking midfielder Valdo, not to be confused with the Brazilian of the same name who played for Paris Saint-Germain, started out with Real Madrid’s reserve side at the age of 20. He made four appearances for the first team, including two in the Champions League.
Although he did not have the level required to establish himself either at Real Madrid or with Spain’s senior national side – he was a Spain Under-21 international – Valdo went on to build a respectable career in La Liga with clubs such as Osasuna, Espanyol and Levante. Later, at the age of 30, he briefly represented Cape Verde at international level.
Javier Balboa (Equatorial Guinea)
Javier Balboa progressed through Real Madrid’s youth system before making his first-team debut in the 2005-06 season. Even after a loan spell at Racing Santander, the attacking midfielder found opportunities limited due to fierce competition and eventually departed having made 15 appearances and scored two goals, one of them in the Champions League.
He subsequently moved to Portugal, where he played mainly in the Primeira Liga for Benfica, Beira Mar and Estoril. With Equatorial Guinea, Balboa helped his country achieve a fourth-place finish at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Only players with appearances for Real Madrid’s first team are included in this list, a group that Yan Diomande is now on the verge of joining in historic fashion.
