After signing a seven-year deal with Real Madrid of Spain worth $144.3 million from RB Leipzig of Germany, making him the most expensive African player in history, Côte d’Ivoire star Yan Diomandé is in contention to start against Espanyol on Saturday.

The right-footed left winger’s transfer to the Spanish giants was aided by his breakout season in Germany and his performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, where he played all four matches for Côte d’Ivoire, the last of which was a 2-1 Round of 32 loss to Norway.

Born in Abidjan in November 2006, Diomandé made one appearance each for Côte d’Ivoire at the Under-17 and Under-23 levels at the age of 15 before being called up to the senior national team for the first time in October 2025. He currently has three goals in 14 appearances for his country. He also recorded an assist in the World Cup tie against Curaçao.

Diomandé left Africa for the first time to join the DME Academy in Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S., where he remained until he turned 18 and became old enough to sign a professional contract, in line with FIFA guidelines.

At the academy, he learned to speak English, adapted to his new environment and way of life, and developed as a footballer. Different clubs invited him for trials, including Rangers of Scotland in October 2023, but none of the moves materialised.

In 2024, Club Deportivo Leganés, which was in Spain’s top division at the time, under General Manager Martín Ortega, signed him and included him in the academy.

He was then promoted to the reserve team before eventually being called up to the first team, making his professional LaLiga debut as an 85th-minute substitute in a 3-2 loss to Real Madrid.

Soon after, Leipzig signed him for £20 million, making him the first Ivorian to feature for the club and only the sixth African to play for its first team, after Naby Keïta, Ademola Lookman and others.

In the opening match of the 2025–26 Bundesliga season, he made his first league start against Bayern Munich in a 6-0 defeat. In his only season in Germany, he scored 12 goals and provided eight assists. He was eventually named the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season.

After just one season at the German club, top teams across Europe battled for his signature, but Real Madrid met the asking price for the promising youngster.