Real Madrid successfully hijacked and officially announced the signing of RB Leipzig wonderkid Yan Diomande..

Real Madrid announced on their official website on Thursday that they had successfully hijacked and signed RB Leipzig's Ivorian international wonderkid winger Yan Diomande.

According to Real Madrid's official statement, Diomande has signed on a long-term seven-year deal with the club which runs until the summer of 2033.

After completing his transfer procedures, Diomande, who was interviewed by the La Liga giants' official website for the first time, said: "Joining Real Madrid is a childhood dream come true. I am very grateful to the RB Leipzig management, who made this transfer possible despite my current contract."

With this statement, the saga surrounding Diomande's transfer battle has finally come to an end.

Furthermore, according to The Athletic's resident renowned English transfer journalist David Ornstein, Real Madrid paid €140 million to Leipzigt to sign Diomande, not including performance-related bonuses and add-ons.

He also revealed that Diomande had recently clashed with his former agent, leading to confusion regarding the individual in charge over his transfer and a process that wasn't finalized until a few days ago.

Ornstein added that this was the reason Paris Saint-Germain accused Diomande's then-agent of "making exorbitant demands," causing negotiations to fall apart due to financial issues.

Liverpool withdrew from the transfer battle after Diomande publicly expressed his desire to join PSG.

Furthermore, Ornstein unexpectedly revealed that his industry colleagues, Fabrizio Romano, had fallen out with a friend of Romano due to the latter's reporting on Diomande's transfer battle.

He pointed out that Romano, for some unknown reason, had repeatedly leaked information since mid-July, before Diomande had even found a new club, claiming that Real Madrid had already successfully hijacked and signed the player.

His series of revelations, inconsistent with the facts at the time, put immense pressure on his colleagues at Sky Sports Germany and displeased the Leipzig management, ultimately sparking a fierce online feud between close friends Florian Plettenberg and Romano, which even turned into a bitter enmity.

Finally, Ornstein admitted that he chose to side with Plettenberg to refute Romano because he believed Plettenberg was completely innocent. This became a rare example of a conflict arising from a disagreement among the three while reporting on the same topic.

About Yan Diomande

The 19-year-old Diomande was born on November 14, 2006, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He is 1.82 meters tall and primarily plays as a right winger, but can also play as a left winger.

At the age of 15, Diomande went to the United States alone to join the DME Football Academy. After graduating in 2023, he joined UPSL club Franzi, and his outstanding performance earned him a trial with Rangers, but he was unable to join the latter due to work permit issues.

In November 2024, Diomande joined Leganés' youth academy, and began playing for their B team in January of the following year. In March 2025, he completed his Leganés first-team debut by coming on as a substitute against his future club, Real Madrid, breaking the club's record as the fourth youngest debuting player.

In the summer of 2025, Diomande joined RB Leipzig for €20 million.

Last season, Diomande made 36 appearances for the Bundesliga powerhouse in all competitions, scoring 13 goals and providing 10 assists, and was named the Bundesliga's Young Player of the Year.

Image source: Internet