Why Real Madrid spent big to sign Yan Diomande

Real Madrid have their galáctico summer signing: Yan Diomande, who starred at the FIFA World Cup for Ivory Coast after lighting up the Bundesliga last season with RB Leipzig. The arrival of the 19-year-old winger has been made official, for a fee sources have told ESPN could top €130 million including variables. Diomande joins Marc Cucurella, Bernardo Silva, Ibrahima Konaté, Denzel Dumfries and Carlos Espí in signing for Madrid during this transfer window, as the club look to give new coach José Mourinho a squad able to beat Barcelona to the LaLiga title, after two years without a major trophy. - How a U.S. academy helped mold World Cup phenom Yan Diomande - Why did Salah leave Liverpool for Türkiye's fourth-most popular club? - Why 'winning the summer transfer window' is actually for losers The forward emerged as a surprise target for Madrid last month, although the club's willingness to make such a high-profile move this summer was no shock: president Florentino Pérez had promised to bid €150 million for a player during Madrid's election campaign in June. Now it's up to Mourinho to put the pieces together, with Diomande joining Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Vinícius Júnior in a star-studded forward line. This isn't Diomande's first time in Spain, is it? In fact, it isn't even his first time at the Bernabéu. Diomande has faced Real Madrid in LaLiga, albeit for just four minutes: coming on as a late substitute for Leganés in a 3-2 defeat at Madrid in March 2025. Diomande had been recommended to Leganés' former owners, Blue Crow Sports -- a multiclub group based in Houston, Texas -- as part of a project identifying talented young African players. He trained at DME Academy in Daytona Beach, Florida, and after trials at clubs including AFC Bournemouth, Rangers, Crystal Palace and Chelsea -- which, a source told ESPN, did not progress due to the financial demands of his then-representatives -- he eventually signed for Leganés when he turned 18, joining in January 2025. Leganés favored a cautious approach with their new recruit, letting him settle in with their reserve team. But all that changed when then-coach Borja Jiménez saw him in a training match for the first time. "It was a friendly, against our reserve team," Jiménez told The Coaches Voice last month. "When he got the ball, you'd see him take people on, go past them. Then he'd get the ball, and do it again. He didn't hold back, even though he was playing against the first team. He didn't care who was in front of him ... I have the video of that training session. It's worth watching." Jiménez was convinced immediately. "Tomorrow, he trains with us," he said. Diomande made 10 appearances in LaLiga between March and May 2025, including those minutes at the Bernabéu, and a start against Barcelona. Leganés were relegated, but Diomande gave them something different. In a 2-2 draw at relegation rivals Sevilla, he missed a chance for an added-time winner. The points would have kept Leganés up. "People talk about his mistake in the 95th minute, because he didn't score," Jiménez added. "But for me, it wasn't a mistake. The only person who could have got to that ball was him. If it wasn't for Yan, the chance didn't exist." With Leganés facing a season in the second division, competition to sign Diomande was fierce. There was a possibility of a deal with AS Monaco, a source told ESPN, before Leipzig -- known for backing young talent -- came in, paying the player's €20 million release clause. It was a smart move. Diomande was named the Bundesliga's Rookie of the Season for 2025-26, an award previously won by Bayern Munich star Michael Olise. His numbers were startling. Only five Bundesliga players contributed to more goals than Diomande's 20 (12 goals, eight assists). Only four players created more big chances than his 17. And no player, not even Olise, attempted more than his 214 take-ons, with an impressive 55.1% success rate. How much competition did Madrid face for his signature? Both Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain were keen on Diomande. When Liverpool opted not to pursue their interest, PSG were considered clear favorites to sign him, and they were the winger's preferred destination -- until Madrid's involvement. The player's contract until 2030, and Leipzig's consequent demands for a high transfer fee, were not the only complicating factor. A source told ESPN that among some top clubs who tracked Diomande, there were concerns about the possible implications of two ongoing legal cases, one involving a former agent's claim against his current representatives, Roc Nation, and another involving the player's image rights. Madrid, however, moved quickly and decisively. On July 2, a source told ESPN that they expected to have an agreement with Leipzig in the following 48 hours. Sources close to Madrid blamed Leipzig for the delay, claiming there had been haggling over the variables included in the transfer fee, while Leipzig managing director Marcel Schäfer denied that the ongoing legal battles involving former agents were a factor. Where does Mourinho plan to play him? Diomande played on the right wing for Leipzig last season; at the World Cup with Ivory Coast, given the other players at their disposal, he featured mostly on the left. But it's on the right-hand side that Madrid's attack has been calling out for an upgrade. Last season, none of Rodrygo, Franco Mastantuono or Brahim Díaz were able to make a convincing case for being the team's long-term starter on the right wing. Rodrygo doesn't enjoy playing there, and sources told ESPN early last season that he had asked then-coach Xabi Alonso to be considered on the left instead. He also suffered an ACL tear in March, with no date yet set for his return. Mastanuono made 23 LaLiga appearances last season, but underwhelmed with one goal and no assists, while Díaz, in three seasons with Madrid, has never made a convincing case to be a regular starter rather than an impact sub. In preseason training so far, including two practice games against Alcorcón and Leganés and a friendly with Fiorentina, Mourinho has lined the team up in a 4-2-3-1, with Mastantuono and then Dumfries starting on the right. With a need to fit both Mbappé and Vinícius into the forward line, the right seems the natural fit for Diomande. All three of Madrid's coaches over the last two seasons -- Carlo Ancelotti, Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa -- have found it difficult to construct a functioning team featuring the club's three attack-minded stars: Mbappé, Vinícius and Bellingham. For now, Mourinho has the challenge of adding a fourth galáctico forward in Diomande, while also finding the balance, solidity and discipline that the side's previous incarnations have lacked.