As Sky reports, transfer talks between the two clubs are finally in the home straight. Los Blancos are expected to pay between €130 million and €140 million for Diomande.
That would make the Ivorian the second-most expensive transfer in Bundesliga history after Ousmane Dembele, who joined Barca from Borussia Dortmund for €148m. Most recently, "only" a fee of €120 million had been on the table.
Transfer journalist Ben Jacobs is already reporting a verbal agreement on the terms of the move, while Sky are still stopping short of calling it a final green light for the transfer. That is only expected to come in the afternoon, when the board in Madrid approve the move from their side.
Diomande poker leaves transfer guru Fabrizio Romano exposed
Earlier, Diomande travelled to the Bundesliga club's training camp on Wednesday. The 19-year-old Ivorian had officially called in sick before departure on Saturday and arrived in Saalfelden, Austria after recovering from an infection. Los Blancos had actually wanted to prevent that so they could bring Diomande straight to Madrid for a medical.
Instead, that did not happen because negotiations with the Saxony club dragged on, even though transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano had described the deal as done more than a week ago and came in for heavy criticism as a result.
"When we have something to announce, we will do so. One or two transfer experts already described it seven or 10 days ago as 'done' or 'Here we go'. But that is simply not the case. A lot goes into it. It is not that far yet," RB sporting director Marcel Schäfer said on Tuesday on Sky.
Diomande transfer: Bayern Munich, Liverpool and PSG were also in for him
Interest in Diomande is said to have been strong from numerous top clubs at an early stage, even before the end of last season. Liverpool, his preferred club Paris Saint-Germain and even Bayern Munich are said to have considered signing the winger. But Real Madrid are now winning the race. Los Blancos do not seem bothered either by the fact the transfer could still have repercussions.
For months, an advisers' dispute over Diomande has been raging behind the scenes of the move. Both the Maxidel Management agency, which handled the transfer from Leganes to RBL last summer, and Diomande's new advisers from Roc Nation believe they are in the right. Maxidel Management are said to regard themselves as still holding the player's transfer rights despite the switch and want a share of the proceeds. If the deal between Real and Leipzig goes through, FIFA are likely to investigate.
Diomande arrived in Leipzig only in the summer of 2025 as a no-name for a surprisingly high transfer fee (€20 million) after just 10 competitive appearances for Leganes, then took off with 13 goals and 10 assists in 36 competitive matches.
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