Real Madrid have signed Ivory Coast international Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig for a fee worth up to £120m (140m euros).
The 19-year-old winger has signed a seven-year contract and his price tag could surpass the £115m (133.9m euros) Real agreed to pay Borussia Dortmund for Jude Bellingham in June 2023.
Paris St-Germain had been frontrunners for the teenager but the Champions League winners pulled out of a potential move on Sunday after a £102.5m bid was rejected.
Diomande was previously a target for Liverpool, who had an initial bid of £69m rejected in June, as they search for a Mohamed Salah replacement, who has left the club.
Diomande is Real’s sixth summer signing under new head coach Jose Mourinho, joining Bernardo Silva, Ibrahima Konate, Denzel Dumfries, Marc Cucurella and Carlos Espi.
In a statement, the teenager thanked Leipzig fans for their “incredible support”, and said: “Who knows? Maybe we’ll meet again one day in the Champions League.”
But he said the move to Madrid “is a childhood dream come true”, adding: “I am all the more grateful to the management at RB Leipzig for making this move possible despite my current contract.”
He was named the Bundesliga’s Young Player of the Season for 2025-26, having scored 12 goals and registered eight assists in the competition.
He appeared in all four of Ivory Coast’s World Cup games as they were eliminated in the round of 32 by Norway.
Diomande moved from his native Ivory Coast to an academy in the United States before joining Spanish side Leganes in 2025 and then Leipzig later that year.
