Real Madrid hijacked this deal — and paid €140m to do it
Yan Diomandé was going somewhere else. The Côte d'Ivoire winger is a Real Madrid player instead.
Yan Diomandé is a Real Madrid player after the club moved late on a deal that had been progressing elsewhere, paying a reported fee of up to €140m for the Côte d’Ivoire international.
It is the largest outlay of Real Madrid’s summer by a distance, and the only one of their six signings to command a fee of that order.
The economics of the window
The rest of the business tells you why they could afford it. Ibrahima Konaté arrived on a free from Liverpool. Bernardo Silva arrived on a free from Manchester City. Marc Cucurella cost a reported £52m from Chelsea. A squad rebuilt largely on expiring contracts leaves room for one very expensive exception.
What he gives Mourinho
Directness, and a profile Real Madrid’s forward line did not otherwise contain. Whether €140m is the right price for it is a question that resolves over three seasons, not three games.
Fee and transfer circumstances per TeamTalk, GiveMeSport and ESPN. Real Madrid have not disclosed terms.
Reporting and analysis from the ohMyLeague newsroom. Rename or replace this byline with your own writers.
Related stories
£123m GONE: Liverpool smash the window wide open — and they're not finished
The biggest deal of the European summer is done. Bradley Barcola is a Liverpool player, and the club still have business to do before Tuesday night.
He was supposed to be the future. Bajcetic has left Liverpool for good.
Four years after becoming Liverpool's youngest midfielder in a generation, Stefan Bajcetic has gone to Celta Vigo permanently — for €1.5m.
£50m REJECTED: Palace slam the door on Liverpool's Sarr bid — reports
Liverpool are said to have offered £45m plus £5m. Crystal Palace reportedly want £75m, and are unhappy at being asked this late.