Despite Negotiations: Diomande at RB's Training Camp

Despite his ongoing plans to leave, Ivorian national team soccer player Yan Diomande has joined Bundesliga club RB Leipzig at their training camp. In Saalfelden, Austria, the professional player—who is being courted by Real Madrid—made a surprise appearance at the team’s breakfast on Wednesday. After recovering from an infection that initially prevented him from traveling with the team, he is now part of the Leipzig squad. Meanwhile, negotiations with the top Spanish club are continuing behind the scenes. According to dpa reports, no major breakthrough has been achieved so far.

Both head coach Martin Demichelis and sporting director Marcel Schäfer had repeatedly emphasized recently that Diomande must report to Saalfelden once he has recovered. Many had seen the infection as a sign that Diomande was trying to force a move to Madrid. That assumption is now off the table.

Complicated Negotiations with Real Madrid

The negotiations between the two clubs are complicated. On the one hand, it’s about the transfer fee—RB is reportedly demanding a guaranteed 120 million euros—and on the other, it’s about agent contracts. There is reportedly a dispute between two companies with which Diomande has worked—both until recently and currently.

Schäfer commented on this in Saalfelden: “I’m not aware of anything currently not working out because of that. From my perspective, that’s incorrect. I haven’t heard from anyone that anything isn’t working because someone is standing in the way.”