Why Yan Diomande has Jude Bellingham to thank for record-breaking Real Madrid transfer

29 Jul 2026 17:02 BST | 4 min read

Suraj Radia | Editor

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Real Madrid are confident they will secure the signing of Yan Diomande this week after going back to the ‘Jude Bellingham route’ in their decision to bring in the RB Leipzig wonderkid.

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Diomande has agreed to join Los Blancos and a deal is expected to be reached in the coming days, with Madrid already believed to have a verbal agreement with Leipzig over a transfer worth around €130 million.

Current ETV

Yan Diomande

F (RL), M (L)

RB Leipzig

Yan Diomande

F (RL), M (L)

RB Leipzig

ETV Range

€33.1M - €40.4M

Both clubs remain in talks but Madrid are determined to seal a deal, having gained confidence to do a deal after the success of Bellingham’s signing in 2024, according to AS.

Like Diomande, Bellingham was considered one of the brightest prospects in world football at the time of his signing and Real Madrid opted to break their transfer record to pay €127m for the then-Dortmund midfielder.

Bellingham’s pricetag has only increased since then, while his profile and commercial value has sky rocketed, which has validated Madrid’s decision and convinced them to gamble on Diomande in the same manner.

Diomande’s fee could end up representing another record transfer but, having beaten the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool to his signing, Madrid believe they are getting the best financial deal for a player who can help them get back to winning titles for many years.

Yan Diomande: how a virtual unknown went from amateur to superstardom at Real Madrid

Diomande has enjoyed a dramatic rise to stardom in recent years, having spent many years playing at an amateur level and on trial at clubs across the world before eventually signing for La Liga side Leganes in 2025.

The teenager only made ten first team appearances for Leganes, scoring twice, before Leipzig were convinced to activate his €20m release clause last summer, with Diomande not looking back since.

© IMAGO - Yan Diomande was playing at the 2026 World Cup this summer.

Diomande boasted an impressive 12 goals and eight assists in his first Bundesliga season, which attracted the attention of virtually all of Europe’s top clubs, including PSG, who felt they were in pole position to sign the winger.

However, despite Diomande giving his priority to joining PSG over any other club, the French side failed to agree a fee with Leipzig across weeks of negotiations, leaving the player’s representatives frustrated and eventually opening their stance towards other teams.

Madrid moved quickly to make their intentions for Diomande known and the 19-year-old was soon enamoured by the prospect of moving to the club, leaving PSG seething at the situation.

Jose Mourinho is said to see Diomande as a key member of his side’s attack going and Madrid feel they have brought another young superstar to emulate the success of Bellingham, with a deal likely to be completed in the coming days.