RB Leipzig aim playful dig at Fabrizio Romano after confirming Yan Diomande transfer | OneFootball

RB Leipzig appeared to take a playful swipe at transfer expert Fabrizio Romano as they officially confirmed Yan Diomandé’s record-breaking move to Real Madrid.

The Bundesliga club announced on Thursday that an agreement had been reached for the 19-year-old winger to join the Spanish giants in one of the biggest transfers of the summer.

RB Leipzig take playful dig at Fabrizio Romano

Announcing the marquee sale on Thursday, the German club officially unveiled the transfer using the caption “Here we ACTUALLY go”—a direct and playful nod to the famous catchphrase popularized by transfer insider Fabrizio Romano.

The post quickly went viral, with fans across social media enjoying the banter from the Bundesliga side as they confirmed Diomandé’s move to the Santiago Bernabéu.

Why Leipzig referenced Romano

The joke stems from events earlier in the transfer saga.

On July 26, Romano gave his trademark “Here we go” for Diomande’s move to Real Madrid, reporting that the transfer had effectively been agreed for a fee exceeding €100 million.

However, the report was swiftly challenged by Sky Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg and Leipzig sporting director Marcel Schäfer, both of whom insisted negotiations were still ongoing and no final agreement had been reached.

Want more CaughtOffside coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

Schäfer even criticised what he described as “self-proclaimed transfer experts” for announcing deals before all parties had completed negotiations.

The disagreement sparked widespread debate among supporters, with conflicting reports emerging over whether the move was genuinely complete.

In the end, the transfer did go through.

Real Madrid eventually agreed a package worth up to €140 million, comprising €125 million guaranteed plus €15 million in potential add-ons, to secure one of Europe’s brightest young talents.

However, the premature claim was immediately challenged by Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg and Leipzig sporting director Marcel Schäfer, who insisted that no final deal had been struck.

The conflicting reports sparked an online back-and-forth between Romano and Plettenberg, while Schäfer publicly called out “self-proclaimed transfer experts” for jumping the gun while negotiations and agent complications were still being resolved.

Despite intense skepticism from German outlets, Romano held firm to his original stance, maintaining for weeks that the transfer would ultimately materialize.

Now that the transfer is officially sealed for a fee reaching up to €140 million (€125m fixed plus €15m in add-ons), Leipzig had the final say with their witty announcement.

While the German club poked fun at the timing of the reporting, some would argue Romano emerges as the ultimate winner, having correctly called the outcome weeks before the final papers were signed.