Real Madrid’s Yan Diomande move faces fresh uncertainty after Leipzig update

RB Leipzig sporting director Marcel Schafer says there is no agreement yet with Real Madrid over the transfer of Yan Diomande, despite growing speculation that a deal for the player is close.

Diomande did not travel with Leipzig to Austria on Saturday, with the club citing illness, although the player has continued to train individually.

Speaking to Sky Sport Germany on Monday, Schafer rejected reports that negotiations had already reached their conclusion.

“Clearly, some supposed experts in the transfer market reported a few days ago that the agreement had been reached or gave the starting signal. That is simply not the case. We have not reached that stage yet,” Schafer said.

The Leipzig sporting director also addressed the uncertainty surrounding Diomande’s representatives. The player’s point of contact is now Roc Nation, following a change of agents, and Schafer said the player had made that position clear to the club.

“There was a change of agents. Our contact person is now Roc Nation, and Yan made that absolutely clear to us. I do not believe a transfer would fall through because of that, if a transfer happens in the first place,” he added.

Diomande’s Leipzig return

Diomande joined Leipzig’s training programme last Monday after returning from his holiday in Abidjan, which followed his participation in the World Cup.

On the same day, he completed a medical examination and took part in part of a session with the first-team squad. That training was open to media and supporters.

Speculation over a possible move to Real Madrid continued in the background, but no transfer has been completed.

The player returned to Leipzig’s training centre on Tuesday and began the first session working on his own. He did not join the group for the second part of the day’s training.

It appeared understandable that the German club did not want to take any risk with a player involved in a potentially significant transfer, particularly given the possibility that an injury could jeopardise the move.

In fact, Martin Demichelis has not yet met Diomande, and the player has not trained under his direction in recent days. Instead, Diomande has continued to work separately during this period.

Dispute involving former agency

According to Spanish newspaper Marca, the transfer is also being held up by a dispute involving Diomande’s agents.

Maxidiel Management, the player’s former representation agency, has brought a legal claim against Roc Nation, which currently represents him. The dispute is reportedly obstructing the completion of a move from Leipzig to Real Madrid.

The disagreement concerns a transfer commission and has reached FIFA. It has also caused significant frustration at Real Madrid, who negotiated with Roc Nation.

The multinational company is owned by rapper Jay-Z and also represents Vinicius Junior and Endrick. However, it appears not to have informed Real Madrid at any stage about the existing legal dispute with Max Gradel, the owner of Maxidiel.

For now, Schafer’s comments make clear that the proposed transfer remains unresolved, with both the negotiations between the clubs and the dispute between the agencies still part of the situation surrounding Diomande.