Real Madrid are closing in on a deal to sign RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande for approximately €130m, with Mundo Deportivo reporting that Los Blancos deliberately allowed their widely-reported interest in Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise to run as cover while negotiating the deal in private.
The Olise Noise Was Never the Real Story
According to Mundo Deportivo journalist Pepe Gil-Vernet, speculation linking Madrid to Olise intensified in the days after Bayern eliminated Los Blancos in the Champions League quarter-finals, with the France international having produced a standout performance across both legs. The noise grew louder still during the Real Madrid presidential election campaign, feeding a narrative that Florentino Pérez was targeting the Bayern winger as his next marquee signing.
Madrid issued a formal denial on June 20, stating the club had made no contact with Olise, his representatives, or anyone connected to him. Bayern’s position was equally categorical throughout: club president Herbert Hainer said publicly that if Florentino had an offer in mind, he could save himself the effort, because Bayern had no intention of selling Olise. That stance never wavered at any level of the club’s hierarchy.
The sequence of denials from both clubs now reads differently in light of Gil-Vernet’s report. While the Olise story consumed the back pages, the Bernabéu’s executives were working to prise a 19-year-old Ivorian winger away from RB Leipzig – and away from PSG, who believed they had already secured him.
Madrid Jumped the Queue on PSG
Diomande, who plays his club football for RB Leipzig, had reportedly reached a verbal agreement with PSG during the World Cup, with Luis Enrique’s side appearing to be the frontrunners for his signature. Madrid accelerated their approach in the final days of last week, offering Diomande improved personal terms to push past the French champions in the race.
The move did not go down well in Paris. PSG officially withdrew their interest on Sunday evening, and by Tuesday had publicly criticised Madrid’s conduct. The €130m fee, which includes variables, reflects the complexity and urgency of an operation that required Madrid to outbid a rival who thought the deal was already done.
For context on how Madrid were simultaneously managing the Olise narrative externally, Gil-Vernet’s account suggests the club’s public messaging and its private transfer activity were operating on entirely separate tracks – a level of compartmentalisation that ultimately served Madrid well in the race for Diomande.
What Happens Next
Madrid and Leipzig are still finalising the remaining contractual details, but sources in the Spanish capital consider the deal effectively done. An official announcement is expected this week, with the club keen to integrate Diomande into José Mourinho’s squad as early as possible in pre-season preparations.
Whether the Olise links were a conscious smokescreen or simply a story Madrid chose not to aggressively correct is a distinction Gil-Vernet’s piece leaves open. Either way, the outcome is the same: while the transfer market was watching one winger, Los Blancos were signing another.
