Yan Diomande names Real Madrid stars among inspirations as he sets sights on becoming one of the world's best | OneFootball

19-year-old Yan Diomande has been a revelation for RB Leipzig in his debut campaign in the Bundesliga, impressing with his dribbling ability and strong technical quality.

Speaking at a media roundtable on Wednesday, which Bulinews.com attended, Diomande was asked about the players who have inspired him and shaped his game.

“My idol before was Cristiano Ronaldo, and I also like R9 (former Brazilian forward Ronaldo, ed.),” Diomande said, before highlighting two current Real Madrid stars.

“I’m looking at a lot of players, like Vinícius and Mbappé. I try to watch players in my position to take the good things and reproduce them on the pitch.”

Diomande has big ambitions, saying he wants to become “one of the best players in Africa and in Europe”, but he knows there is still a long road ahead and insists on taking things “step by step”.

“I’m working to improve everything every day because I'm not perfect,” the Ivorian winger explained.

“For me, you need to work every day to try to improve something. Even 1 percent every day is good. I’m not going to stop working because I still make a lot of mistakes and I have a goal. You have everything here; you have a structure, and the coach is helping you, so it’s easy to work on the pitch and learn off it as well.”

The 19-year-old uses external pressure as motivation and doesn't let a bad game affect his mindset.

“Sometimes it’s good to have pressure from the fans and from your teammates. You have to fight with yourself,” Diomande said.

“If you didn’t have a good game, you need to recognise that, forget it, and work hard for the next one. I’ve had some bad games this season, but everyone knows I want to fight every day and do everything for the team. It’s not going to work every day, but you have to give everything.”

During the interview, Diomande was also asked about reported interest in him from a host of European top clubs and a potential summer move. Read more about that here.