Real Madrid receive major boost as PSG abandon Yan Diomande pursuit | OneFootball

The last few days have seen Real Madrid burst onto the scene for the RB Leipzig forward Yan Diomande. Despite already having a star-studded forward line, the Merengues continued to be linked with another forward, Michael Olise, for most of this summer. As a result, their links with the Ivory Coast star came as a surprise initially but have only continued to grow since last Friday.

As things stand, Los Blancos have already reached an agreement with both the player and the German club for his signing, which could be announced any time now. Their task has become significantly easier as one of their main rivals for his signing backed out of the race yesterday.

This rival was none other than Paris Saint-Germain, one of the richest and most powerful clubs in Europe. In fact, they had already reached a personal agreement with Diomande three weeks ago, and needed only to negotiate with Leipzig to complete this transfer.

Until yesterday, they were competing with Real Madrid for the Ivorian, but, as MARCA has reported, they decided late in the day to abandon his pursuit. The Ligue 1 side published a statement to make their intentions clear, which went as follows:

“Paris Saint-Germain has officially withdrawn its interest tonight and ended all negotiations regarding Yan Diomande. The transfer fee requested, as well as the salary demands, were completely disproportionate and could have destabilised the market. PSG will not abandon its principles of strict financial management and squad balance. Paris Saint-Germain, the reigning two-time European champions and the most successful club of recent years, will not allow itself to be dragged into inflationary games or the tactics of certain intermediaries. The club will continue, calmly and confidently, to follow its strategy in the transfer market.”

There is no doubt that this is a significant coup for Real Madrid, who have once again got the better of PSG in the transfer market, after already having beaten them to the signing of Franco Mastantuono last season.

However, it appears that the Parisians are not going to take this blow sitting down, as they have already entered the race for the signing of the Manchester City midfielder Rodri Hernandez. Whether this is to actually land the Spaniard or simply to make his move to Real Madrid more difficult, it remains to be seen.