Yann Diomande has the worst start among football’s 10 most expensive transfers

Yann Diomande has made five substitute appearances for Real Madrid without starting a match, giving him the weakest early record of any player among the 10 most expensive transfers in football history.

The Ivorian has played just 94 minutes since joining from RB Leipzig, despite being included in every matchday squad and featuring in each game available to him.

Real Madrid paid RB Leipzig 125m euros for Diomande, with a further 15m euros agreed in potential bonuses and add-ons. The guaranteed fee places him eighth on the all-time transfer list, level with Bradley Barcola.

Should all the conditions in the deal be met, the transfer could rise to 140m euros. That figure would put Diomande fifth when compared with the guaranteed fees paid for the other players on the list, behind Alexander Isak.

Diomande came on for 26 minutes against Espanyol, six against Real Sociedad, 25 against Malaga, 26 against Real Betis at Estadio Benito Villamarin and 11 against Inter Milan. He has yet to score or provide an assist.

According to a report by Sport, the size of the deal has placed Diomande among the biggest names in the transfer market, but his involvement on the pitch has been considerably more limited.

Neymar remains the most expensive player in football history, with Paris Saint-Germain paying Barcelona 222m euros. Kylian Mbappe is second after his 180m-euro move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain.

The list then includes Enzo’s transfer from Chelsea to Manchester City for 145.8m euros, Alexander Isak’s move from Newcastle to Liverpool for 144.5m euros, Morgan Rogers’ switch from Aston Villa to Chelsea for 137.3m euros, Elliot Anderson’s transfer from Nottingham to Manchester City for 135.5m euros and Joao Felix’s move from Benfica to Atletico Madrid for 126m euros.

Diomande and Barcola share eighth place on 125m euros, while Enzo Fernandez’s previous move from Benfica to Chelsea, worth 121m euros, completes the top 10.

A report compiled by EFE stressed that the comparison examines each club’s first five matches after completing the relevant transfer, rather than the player’s first five appearances. In earlier deals, new signings were generally introduced into starting line-ups more quickly.

Neymar missed Paris Saint-Germain’s first match for administrative reasons after his 222m-euro transfer, but started the next four and completed each one, playing 360 minutes. Mbappe started all five matches and played 433 minutes.

Joao Felix also started Atletico Madrid’s first five games, featuring for 387 minutes, although Diego Simeone substituted him several times. Enzo played 450 minutes in the first five matches for Chelsea after arriving.

Liverpool took a more cautious approach with Isak because he joined without a pre-season. He missed the opening match, then played in the following four, starting three and accumulating 218 minutes.

The other four transfers are too recent for their clubs to have completed five matches since the players arrived, but each has started at least one game.

Enzo Fernandez started Manchester City’s first two matches, Rogers started two of Chelsea’s three games and came on as a substitute in the other, while Anderson started for Manchester City. Barcola began against Atletico Madrid after coming off the bench for 31 minutes against Ipswich.

Diomande is therefore the only player among the 10 most expensive transfers not to have started any of his club’s first five matches, and he has also made the most substitute appearances, with five.