0:00 This is Yandy Diomande. >> THAT IS YANDY DIOMANDE. THAT IS WHY REAL MADRID TOOK HIM AWAY FROM LEIPZIG. >> You might watch him play for Real Madrid and think that he was always destined to be a star. >> If you want to win games, you you go with Yandy Diomande. That that it's as simple as that. >> After all, why would Real Madrid pay 125 million euros for him if he was a bum? >> And this is this is a very very special kid. >> How would he be running past players like they're not even there? He's a galactic. But what if I told you back in 2023, this guy was playing high school football in Florida? Diomande was chilling in Daytona Beach while barely anyone in Europe knew who he was. But the rise was not easy by any means. From being rejected by European clubs at a
0:45 young age to a family tragedy that changed his life, this is the insane rise of Yandy Diomande. >> There's a new young star emerging in the streets of Madrid. He is the most expensive African footballer of all time and the biggest signing at his new club, Real Madrid. Yandy Diomande. >> Diomande grew up in the Ivory Coast. He lived in a house with around 25 people playing football on dirt pitches usually in these cheap white plastic sandals. Sometimes there was barely enough food. He has even talked about stealing potatoes with other kids just so they could eat. But football was always there. At night he would sneak into the
1:31 TV room after everyone went to sleep. He would keep the volume super low and watch Cristiano Ronaldo. He was obsessed with him, which makes a lot of sense because this was during Ronaldo's first stint at Manchester United back when he was actually entertaining to watch. He even had a fake Manchester United shirt and wrote Ronaldo 7 on the back with a marker. >> Everyone know he was my my idol and he's still my idol. Like I I can't do with the jerseys. Crazy. >> Funny enough, according to his open letter to his late sister before the World Cup, that's where I got all of this personal information from. The adults around him kept calling him Roberto Carlos because he could hit the ball so hard, but that annoyed him apparently because Ronaldo was his guy. Then when Diomande was 15, he finally gets a chance to go to Europe. He has trials with clubs like Chelsea, Rangers,
2:17 Crystal Palace, and Bournemouth. He even spends time around players like Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise. But nothing comes from it. Nobody thought he was good enough, nobody handed him a contract. So he ended up having to go back to Africa. >> And also coming on trial to any football club with a two-week trial is almost impossible to to to show up because the other players are all used to the drills you do, they're all used to the coaches, they know what the coaches expect. You come in and might do something different the coach. No, no, no. And it's happened to me as a coach, you know, I I I got rid of a couple of players that went on to be very good. But for those two weeks, they were absolutely hopeless. >> And Diomande has spoken about how devastating that was. He thought his chance was gone. But then in 2022, he gets another opportunity. This time in America. He moves to Daytona Beach, in Florida. Now, Diomande at this point couldn't speak English. And instead of joining some massive MLS academy, he
3:03 joins DME Academy. >> My video assistant from the US Soccer Time is his name. He discovered him already over four years ago in the African under-17 championship because he kind of goes all through all the material and looks for all the players coming out in all the different countries. So he spotted him and he recommended him to an agency. The agency brought him over to the United States where he then went to high school and then played in the fourth division basically in the US. >> Then he starts playing for AS Frenzy in the UPSL. And this is where things finally start clicking. The level was obviously not Europe, but at least he had somewhere where he could play. His coaches immediately realized how ridiculous he is physically. He's super quick, really strong, but also creative on the ball. So no, he wasn't just a pace merchant like most of the kids in
3:49 US youth football, or should I call it soccer? Once Diomande started running at people, it was a problem. Then comes the 2023 UPSL National Final. AS Frenzy are tied 1-1 and the game goes to extra time. Then in the 115th minute, Diomande gets away down the left, cuts inside, and curls the winner into the back of the net. He becomes a national champion and wins MVP. Suddenly, the kid who Europe had rejected a couple of years earlier had taken over American grassroots football. He had finally given people a reason to come looking for him again. Now, one of the reasons that Diomande has looked comfortable in La Liga is because he has played in this league before. In November of 2024, after tearing it up in Donald Trump land, Spanish side Leganes signed him and initially placed him with their reserve
4:35 team. Yes, guys, that's the team with the pickle as a mascot. But, Diomande doesn't stay with the reserves for long. By March of 2025, he was already making his La Liga debut. And his first appearance came at the Santiago Bernabeu against Real Madrid. >> I mean, if you remember, your debut for Leganes was against >> Madrid. >> Leganes lost 3-2, but for Diomande, this was still a massive moment. This was the kid who used to sneak into the TV room at night to watch Cristiano Ronaldo. Now, he was playing in La Liga at the Bernabeu. >> What do you remember from that game? Is there anything that stood out to you specifically? >> I changed the jersey with Mbappe. And today we are in the same locker room and we laugh together. So, it's crazy. I can't say it's crazy. >> A couple of months later, he got another
5:21 huge moment. Against Espanyol, Diomande scored his first professional goal, helping Leganes win 3-2. His career was finally taking off. But, at the same time, Diomande went through something that completely changed his life. Just weeks after making his debut for Leganes, he gets a call from back home telling him that his younger sister, Roxanne, who was just 15 years old, had passed away. Roxanne was probably his biggest supporter. When they were younger, she would tell people in the neighborhood that her brother was going to become the greatest player in the world. >> Almost 14 months ago, after Leganes-Barca, and you said something to me. You said, "I want to be the best player in the world." And you're playing for the biggest club in the world. Would you Would you have believed that if this was 14 months ago and you would have
6:06 said this to yourself? >> Of course. Of course. Of course, I still want to be the one in the bigger player in the world. And that was my my idea since the beginning and it never changed. >> The two of them would talk about what they were going to do when Diomande became successful. They even dreamed about buying apartments together in France one day. Then suddenly she was gone. According to Diomande, Roxanne had gone to a party where her drink was spiked. She never woke up. And you can imagine what something like that does to a person. Ahead of the 2026 World Cup, Diomande wrote an open letter to Roxanne for the Players' Tribune. And some of what he wrote is genuinely heartbreaking. He said that that was back when he used to have emotions. Now he doesn't feel anything. Football suddenly became pretty much the only thing he cared about. >> want to enjoy playing football and because this is the only thing I know,
6:51 so I want to enjoy playing football every day. >> While he was at Le Mans, he lived in a basic room at the training ground. He would just sleep and play football because the pitch became the one place where he still felt connected to his sister. And he made Roxanne a promise. He said, "Everything I do on a football pitch, it's for you." He wanted the entire world to know her name. And from that point forward, every step Diomande took in his career carried a much bigger meaning. He was chasing the dream Roxanne always believed he would achieve. After just a few months at Le Mans, Diomande was already attracting attention from much bigger clubs. And in July of 2025, RB Leipzig paid 20 million euros to bring him to Germany. It was here that Diomande and his shiny forehead went to another level. >> He scored his first goal for Leipzig in the DFB Pokal against Sandhausen. Then in October, he got his first Bundesliga
7:38 goal in a 6-0 win over Augsburg. But the game that really announced him to Germany came in December. Leipzig played Eintracht Frankfurt and they won 6-0 with Diomande scoring a hat-trick. >> went down and THE SHOT COMES IN AND THAT'S A GOAL. DIOMANDE AND HOW ABOUT THIS? AND DIOMANDE IS THROUGH. Is he going to MAKE IT A HAT-TRICK? YES. >> That made him the second youngest player in Bundesliga history to score a hat-trick. And from there he just keeps getting better. By the end of the season, Diomande had 12 goals and nine assists in 33 Bundesliga games. But the numbers that really stood out were his dribbling numbers. I mean, this guy was treating Bundesliga fullbacks like they were just cones. Diomande averaged 4.08 successful take-ons per 90, putting him in the 99th percentile. He was also
8:23 completing around 60% of his dribbles. For comparison, Luis Diaz was completing around 1.9 successful dribbles per game at a 49% success rate. Olise was around two per game at 47%. Diomande was attempting more dribbles and completing them at a much higher rate. He's ridiculously explosive and loves getting isolated one-on-one against a fullback. He wants to attack you, beat you, drive into the box, then either shoot or find someone with a cutback. Now, there were still weaknesses. He's not particularly good in the air, his crossing needed work, and like every young winger, there were still moments where his decision-making could improve. But we're talking about a player who was still only at the beginning of his career, and he'd already become one of the most dangerous dribblers in Europe. By the end of the season, he finished just one goal behind Leipzig's top goalscorer, Christoph Baumgartner, and he was named the 2025-2026
9:09 Bundesliga Rookie of the Season. >> And this is this is a very, very special kid. I mean, this is the talent that he has, the dynamic, this the speed, also this kind of a little bit of a street football instinct that he carries inside of him is very special. So, it will be interesting to see if now a caliber like Liverpool comes in or another big team. >> In the span of a few years, Diomande had gone from playing football in America to being one of the most exciting young stars in Germany. Now, at the same time, Diomande was also becoming an important player for Ivory Coast. At AFCON in January of 2026, he scored in a 3-0 win over Burkina Faso in the round of 16. Then came the 2026 World Cup, and as we saw for Diomande, this tournament meant a lot more than just football. Firstly,
9:54 the World Cup was being played in North America. Just a few years earlier, Diomande had been in the United States desperately trying to get noticed. Now he was coming back as one of the most exciting young stars in Europe, one of the players to watch for the tournament. And of course, it was before this tournament that he wrote the letter to Roxane. He said, "I don't even look at it like a game. I look at it like a stage." This was his opportunity to show the entire world what his sister had always seen in him. >> pushed me to never give up because I know my sister is a long time we spoke about a lot of things. I know I'm not emotional but Yeah, it's good. It's good. That was a good moment, the perfect moment for me to share my history with the guy. With the people like with the world and Yeah, like I say like she's pushing me to never give up
10:40 and to keep working hard to make my dream true and I think if I reach everything, she's going to be happy. >> Diomande ended up starting all four games for Ivory Coast against Ecuador, Germany, Curacao, and the Norway. His biggest moment came against Curacao in the final group game. Diomande assisted in a 2-0 win. Becoming the youngest Ivorian player ever to register a goal contribution at a World Cup at just 19 years and 223 days old. The win was historic. For the first time ever, the Ivory Coast had reached the knockout stage of a World Cup. Now, they eventually lost 2-1 to Norway in the round of 32. >> Uh how was the World Cup for you by the
11:26 way? >> Good experience, first one. Good experience. We didn't expect to win there but we But for me personally, it was a good experience and it was a great tournament. >> But Diomande had done exactly what he told Roxanne he was going to do. The whole world knew his name and now one of the biggest clubs in the world came calling. >> Can you walk me through what the first few moments were like when you heard that Real Madrid wanted to sign you? >> It was like a dream. It was like a dream because there's no bigger club than Madrid and >> After the World Cup, Real Madrid went all in. On August 6th, 2026, Madrid announced Diomande on a seven-year contract until 2033. And the price was insane. The base fee was reportedly 125
12:12 million euros. With bonuses, it could rise to around 135 million euros, and the complete package could eventually reach 140 million euros. That made Diomande Real Madrid's record signing, surpassing what they had paid for Jude Bellingham. He also became the most expensive African footballer ever, breaking Nicolas Pepe's record. Impressive, considering I'm pretty sure the Pepe deal was money laundering. But of course, this is Real Madrid, so the transfer didn't just happen normally. There was a massive agent dispute happening in the background. Diomande's former agent, Ivorian legend Max Gradel, claimed his agency still had a legally binding representation agreement with the player. Meanwhile, Diomande had moved to Roc Nation Sports, and Real Madrid negotiated the transfer through Roc Nation's Federico Pena, who also represents players like Vinnie and Endrick. So, complaints were filed with
12:58 FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport. At one point, the dispute became so serious that there were concerns over whether Diomande's registration could actually be affected, cuz Real Madrid's legal department reportedly received three separate lawsuits connected to the deal. Now, eventually, they managed to get everything sorted enough for the transfer to go through, but that only added more pressure to Diomande. And the funny thing is, after all that trouble, Diomande barely played during his first few La Liga games. He got 27 minutes against Espanyol, seven against Real Sociedad, 27 against Malaga, and 26 against Betis. Across all those games, he had zero goals and zero assists. Madrid fans knew they were getting a raw player, but still, when you've spent over 100 million euros and the guy's putting up donuts, it's not a great sight to see. >> I need to prove myself. And then, they spend a lot of money.
13:44 People are waiting for me, but I have no pressure. I have no pressure. >> You don't feel any pressure? >> No. >> Yeah, why? >> Because I have a good team. >> Yeah. >> And they spend a lot of money because they believe in me, so why am I going to scare? I don't scare. I have no pressure. >> Mhm. >> Mourinho told everyone to relax. "Calm down," I think were his actual words. He said Diomande was working hard, was humble, and wanted to learn. >> Contra el Espanyol y contra la Sociedad, ha tenido minutos minutos que es lo que jugadores necesitan para para crecer. Y él es así. >> And what do you know? The special one ended up being right. >> So he speaks French. Shows he knows >> Yeah, good French. >> Yeah. How does that make you feel? >> I have a friend in my manager. >> Yeah. You have a friend in your manager.
14:29 Wow. >> Diomande just needed an opportunity and was given a beautiful one because Vini Jr. aka Brazilian Jason Derulo decided he wanted to braid Nathan Saliba's hair mid-game and got suspended for four games. >> Is this Real Madrid performance encouraging enough not to rush Vini back in the starting 11 when he's available? >> Oh, yeah. >> You tell everybody get set up a little bit more. >> Up until this point, Diomande had played on the right, but now Mourinho moved him to the left and everything changed. Now Diomande could attack defenders before cutting inside onto his stronger right foot. He scored his first Madrid goal against Villarreal, then 8 days later against Sevilla, he really exploded. He then added an assist as Madrid won 4-1. At 19 years and 338 days old, he became the youngest Real Madrid player this century to score in the same La Liga game. He had broken
15:16 Jude Bellingham's record and somehow 3 days later, he did it again. Except this time it was in the Champions League against his old club RB Leipzig. Diomande came off the bench in the 69th minute. I know some of you are giggling at that, get your mind out of the gutter. Then in the 83rd minute, he assisted Mbappe. Then he decided to score one himself. He became the youngest African player to score and assist in a Champions League game since Obafemi Martins in 2003. He also broke Guti's record as the youngest Real Madrid substitute to do it. He dedicated the goal to his sister. >> You wrote in the letter everything I do is for you. Is that still true? >> Yeah, of course. Yeah. >> Three days later, Diomande was starting his first ever Clasico at the Camp Nou against Barcelona. And once again, Mourinho started him on the left. Now Diomande looked completely fearless. At one point, he got the ball near the touchline where he was being group hugged by Lamine Yamal and the other Barca guys. And he casually nutmegged
16:02 them. His direct running was causing Barca problems throughout the game. And in the 41st minute, Diomande drove a low ball across the box and Gerard Martin decided he felt bad for Madrid losing all those El Clasicos. So he clears it right off Mbappe into the net. Madrid ended up winning and despite Diomande literally being stomped by Joao Cancelo, he had made his mark. A couple of weeks earlier, people were calling him the Ivorian Madueke. Now he was showing everyone that he might be the solution to Real Madrid's winning problems. Now of course there's a long way to go for this young guy, but when you hear his story, it's hard not to root for him. If you enjoyed this video, I'm sure you will love this one too. Check it out right here.
