Yan Diomande chooses PSG as next destination if he leaves RB Leipzig
Yan Diomande has chosen Paris Saint-Germain as his next destination if he leaves RB Leipzig this summer.
The Ivory Coast international, 19, believes in the project led by chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi and football advisor Luis Campos, sources speaking anonymously have told The Athletic, and wants to play for head coach Luis Enrique.
The winger sees a move to the French capital as giving him the best opportunity to consistently compete for trophies and potentially become a future Ballon D’or winner.
Liverpool had previously expressed a willingness to put forward a package approaching €100million (£86.8m; $115m) for him.
Leipzig were unwilling to accept that offer and have been holding out for closer to €130m while also trying to tie Diomande to fresh terms. The teenager signed a contract until 2030 when he joined from Spanish side Leganes last summer.
Diomande is currently at the World Cup with Ivory Coast and is likely to feature when they face Norway in the round of 32 in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday.
The attacker, who can play on either wing, missed only one Bundesliga game this season due to an international call-up.
He scored 12 goals and provided nine assists in 33 league matches last season, helping the German side finish third in the Bundesliga and qualify for the Champions League.
Should he leave he will become Leipzig’s biggest sale, topping the fees paid for Benjamin Sekso by Manchester United in 2025 (€76.5m plus add-ons) or the €90m that Manchester City paid the club to sign Josko Gvardiol in 2023.
One of the most coveted talents on the planet
Analysis by football data writer Thomas Harris
Barely 18 months ago, Yan Diomande was playing his football for DME Sports Academy in Florida. Now impressing at this summer’s World Cup, he is one of the most coveted players on the planet.
The Ivorian’s ascent has been frighteningly quick, crashing his way through European football in a whirlwind of zig-zagging runs and emphatic finishes. It began at Spanish side Leganes, where he spent three months with the reserves after his arrival from the United States, before earning his professional debut against Real Madrid. His first goal soon followed, quickly backed up with statement performances against Villarreal and Real Valladolid — games in which his prodigious dribbling ability became clear.
Barely 500 minutes of football was all it took to convince RB Leipzig to make their move, and Diomande has continued to thrive as the chief outlet down the flanks at the Bundesliga club. No player in the German top flight has tried to dribble past an opponent more often last season, while his success rate is the highest of any winger across Europe with at least 50 take-on attempts. He is one of the few wide players in world football who genuinely combines quantity and quality out wide.
Diomande enjoyed a fine debut season for RB Leipzig (Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)
The 19-year-old’s rapid feet and slender figure allow him to dart quickly in either direction, but there is also a sense of power and springiness to Diomande’s dribbling when he is in full flow, able to bounce from challenge to challenge and keep the ball moving forward at speed. It makes him a potent weapon on the counter-attack, where his dribbling fluency translates to a smooth shooting action. He is capable of shifting the ball quickly and generating power and accuracy with both feet.
Such unpredictability was on display in the Bundesliga run-in; he clinched a late win against Borussia Monchengladbach with a shimmy and a thumping finish on his left in early April, before opening the scoring away at Eintracht Frankfurt seven days later after a mazy run, a chop inside and a curling shot with his right.
Diomande has already adapted to the international stage, too, scoring three times in 13 appearances for Ivory Coast and making his mark at the Africa Cup of Nations and in helping his country progress from a tough group including Germany and Ecuador at the World Cup.