Paris Saint-Germain have pulled out of the race to sign Yan Diomande, accusing the winger's camp of making “disproportionate and distortive” demands – a move that has cleared the path for Real Madrid to seal a deal worth more than £100m for the 19-year-old.
The Ivory Coast international has agreed personal terms with the European champions, who are now expected to finalise a transfer that will shatter RB Leipzig's club record sale. Diomande, the Bundesliga's young player of the season after scoring 12 goals and registering eight assists last term, will fly to Madrid for a medical in the coming days.
“Real Madrid clinch Yan Diomande deal after PSG withdraw, with fee exceeding £100m for 19-year-old Ivorian.”
PSG had looked to be frontrunners for the teenager, even reaching a verbal agreement with him last month. But on Sunday the French club issued a statement confirming their withdrawal. “The asking transfer fee and salary demands were completely disproportionate and distortive – and PSG will not break its principles of rational financial management and squad balance,” the statement read. “As a two-time consecutive Champions League winner and the most successful club in recent years, PSG will also not engage in the inflationary and manipulative games of certain player agents – and will instead calmly and confidently continue its transfer planning.”
The decision ends a saga that had also involved Liverpool, who had an initial bid of £69m rejected in June before moving on to other targets. PSG themselves had a final £102.5m bid turned down by Leipzig. Real Madrid, however, persisted. Sources close to the club say key negotiators Jose Angel and Juni Calafat have been scouting Diomande for about five years, and their interest was not reactive to his World Cup performances – he played in all four of Ivory Coast's matches this summer.
Real's opening offer of €90m plus €10m in add-ons was rejected by Leipzig, but the two sides have since neared an agreement on a fee “well in excess” of €100m (£85m). Diomande's personal terms are said to be modelled on the contract of England midfielder Jude Bellingham, incentivised on performances and improving year-on-year.
The winger joined Leipzig from Spanish club Leganes last summer on a five-year deal, having moved to an academy in the United States from his native Ivory Coast in 2025. Leipzig regarded the interest in Diomande as extraordinary and found it difficult to reject the potential record sale price from Europe's elite.
With PSG out and Real closing in, Diomande's move to the Bernabéu now appears a matter of when, not if. For Liverpool, who turned their attention to PSG's Bradley Barcola – valued at £145m – the search for a winger continues.