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Jay-Z feud threatening Liverpool’s €120m transfer plan
Updated: 19 Jun 2026 10:21 BST |
6 min read
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Liverpool have their eyes set on RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande as their marquee summer transfer addition.
The Bundesliga club have put a price tag on the Ivory Coast winger that could exceed €120 million – a princely fee for a player they snapped up for just €20m 12 months ago.
Money has been no obstacle for Liverpool in recent times, though. The Anfield club twice broke the Premier League transfer record last summer to sign Florian Wirtz and then Alexander Isak in an unprecedented spree.
Current ETV
Yan Diomande
F (RL)
RB Leipzig
Yan Diomande
F (RL)
RB Leipzig
ETV Range
€30.1M - €36.8M
But in the deal for Diomande, the Merseysiders face unprecedented problems.
Leipzig set huge Diomande asking price
Firstly, there is no doubt that Leipzig have set the bar for Diomande’s transfer fee high. Seeking to profit from the 19-year-old’s breakout Bundesliga campaign, during which he scored 13 goals and created 10 more, the Red Bull-owned outfit want a club-record fee in order to sell.
Liverpool have already had one massive bid rejected, as detailed by Fabrizio Romano:
“My understanding is that it was worth €90m plus €10m in add-ons. Red Bull Leipzig rejected the proposal. They are not accepting €100m… Sources in the industry believe €120m could be the number to make the deal happen.”
The Reds will not be put off by this figure, though. Liverpool are ‘expected’ to revisit the deal, Romano says.
PSG provide likely direct competition for Andoni Iraola’s side, yet there is nothing unusual in having to go head-to-head with such a team to land a coveted player.
The agency dispute that threatens a deal
Any potential deal for Diomande, though, will have to clear an unusual hurdle, with a heated agency dispute threatening any move. This is not uniquely Liverpool’s problem; PSG and RB Leipzig also need the issue to be resolved in order to smooth a summer transfer.
It is a tangle that has been ongoing for months and involves American rapper Jay-Z and former Premier League footballer Max Gradel as its protagonists.
Diomande seemed to have teed himself up for a summer transfer when it was announced following the close of the winter window that he had changed agency to Roc Nation, founded by Jay-Z.
Jay-Z’s stable includes players such as Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior and Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli, but while Roc Nation’s website has the biography of the Ivory Coast international beside such players, there is a dispute as to who is legally allowed to represent him.
Maxidel Management, which was formed by former Leeds star Max Gradel, claims that the RB Leipzig star is still its player.
It announced a contract extension with the player via Instagram on 1 January and has since released a statement:
“It is therefore with great surprise that we are now discovering that an engagement may have been made in parallel with another agency, outside of any proper procedure and without respect for our contractual rights.
“In light of this situation, Maxidel Management will take all necessary measures to protect its rights and defend its interests through the appropriate legal channels.”
The Mirror reports that the issue has been referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Why Diomande is a precious talent
Diomande’s attraction is obvious because of his playing style, which is outside the norm of many modern-day stars. His ability to dribble and commit defenders makes him a game-breaking talent, and the fact that there are few wingers capable of playing in such a manner makes him a valuable commodity.
“If you're always telling people to play with one or two touches, what does a player do in a one-on-two or three-on-three situation, in a tight space? Does he just throw the ball away? Because young players don't know how to dribble enough anymore,” Javier Pastore, the agent of Enzo Fernandez, lamented in September. This ability makes Diomande doubly precious.
PSG’s interest in the winger is underlined by SciSports’ analysis, which shows that he is very similar in playing style to Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye, three players already on the books of the Parc des Princes club.
Barcola, though, is unsettled and could move on in the summer, with Liverpool one of the sides primarily monitoring the evolution of his situation. Should PSG sign Diomande, it could open the door for the France international to move to Anfield.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are interested in a winger of Diomande’s stature as they failed to replace Luis Diaz after he was sold to Bayern Munich last summer.
With Leipzig’s stance firm, though, it will take an enormous bid or a dramatic change for the teenager to be on his way this summer – and that’s even before considering the legal situation surrounding the player.
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