CD Leganes general manager Martin Ortega has backed Yan Diomande to thrive at Real Madrid amid reports linking him with a €120 million move to the Santiago Bernabeu. The 19-year-old Ivory Coast winger was only in the Leganes senior squad for a short time before moving to RB Leipzig, but Ortega has put him in the same bracket as Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Dembele.
With the Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly presumably disappearing into the rearview mirror, the battle for the Ballon d'Or hasn't felt so open for the best part of 20 years, with countless players now beginning each campaign believing they have a chance of claiming the most prestigious individual prize football has to offer. Ousmane Dembele emerged from a career plagued by injuries and inconsistencies to win the Golden Ball in 2025, and he was among a crowded field of contenders again in 2026.
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