Barcelona can ruin Real Madrid's Diomande deal: Star is 'waiting' for offer

27 Jul 2026 15:02 BST | 4 min read

Hansi Flick, Barcelona, 2025/26 — © IMAGO

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

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Barcelona have the opportunity to complicate Yan Diomande's proposed transfer from RB Leipzig to Real Madrid.

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The Ivory Coast international has agreed terms with Los Blancos after a spectacular turn of events in recent days. Diomande had been expected to join PSG for several weeks, but the reigning European champions refused to meet the financial demands of Leipzig and the player.

This allowed Real Madrid to swoop in, and there is now a firm expectation that they will reach an agreement with Leipzig. After two rejected bids, a third offer is likely to do the trick, with the deal expected to be in the region of €120 million or above.

Current ETV

Yan Diomande

F (RL), M (L)

RB Leipzig

Yan Diomande

F (RL), M (L)

RB Leipzig

ETV Range

€33.1M - €40.4M

At present, Diomande is still in Saxony. He has reported for pre-season with Leipzig and undertaken some routine fitness tests on Monday. An agreement between Red Bull and Real Madrid could come at any moment.

It is not entirely clear what Leipzig will do with the Diomande money. A replacement will likely have to be signed, but it is not yet known who they will target once the deal is wrapped up. However, they have been working on one major deal behind the scenes.

Does Asllani hold the key to the Diomande deal?

For several weeks, Leipzig have been trying to sign Hoffenheim sensation Fisnik Asllani, who is expected to be on the move this summer after a breakout season in the Bundesliga.

On the face of it, signing Asllani shouldn't be too difficult. He has an affordable release clause below €30m, and it is believed that personal terms are broadly agreed with Leipzig. And yet, the deal has still not been completed.

According to Sport, that's because Asllani is waiting for Barcelona. The Kosovo international is a boyhood fan of the club and has been on their radar for several months, though he has never been seen as a priority target.

However, because of Barcelona's need to replace Robert Lewandowski and their difficulty in agreeing a deal with Atletico Madrid for Julian Alvarez, Asllani has now become a viable option for them.

The 23-year-old is waiting for the Catalans to withdraw from the Alvarez saga, which is why he hasn't yet given the final green light to a move to Leipzig, much to the frustration of the Bundesliga club and their fans.

Could this be linked to the Diomande situation in any way? On the face of it, maybe not because Asllani is a striker, not a winger. However, Leipzig already have two starting-calibre centre-forwards, and there have been no suggestions that either of them could leave this summer.

It is therefore possible that Asllani is seen as kind of a Diomande replacement, even if not a like-for-like one. This could, in part, explain why Leipzig have dug their heels in over the Ivorian - there is no guarantee that Asllani joins, so they can't just let Diomande go easily.

By signing Asllani, Barcelona may not prevent Diomande from joining Real Madrid, but they could complicate the deal for their arch-rivals.