The 19-year-old Ivorian winger has been RB Leipzig's breakout attacking talent this year, and Real Madrid have been strongly linked with him for weeks. On Sunday night, Romano posted one of his trademark "Here We Go" announcements, declaring the transfer done: a fee north of €100 million agreed with Leipzig, Diomande set to fly to Madrid this week for a medical, and a contract lined up through June 2031.
Plettenberg, Sky Germany's own well-known transfer reporter, wasn't having it. He pointed out that if the clubs had truly reached a full agreement, the exact fee would already be public, and it isn't. According to him, RB Leipzig, Real Madrid, and Diomande's camp are all still confirming the same thing: There is no finished deal yet, even though Diomande reportedly already has a verbal agreement on personal terms with Real Madrid until 2031. Club-to-club talks, per Plettenberg, were still ongoing as of Sunday night, with both sides simply confident it would get done eventually.
That gap between "personal terms agreed" and "clubs have a deal" is really what the whole argument is about. The Athletic's David Ornstein weighed in as a third voice, echoing Plettenberg's caution — negotiations were still live, he said, and no final agreement was in place, regardless of how confident everyone involved was feeling.
From there, it turned personal. Romano accused Plettenberg of chasing clout and spreading inaccurate reports, name-checking a recent denial over Manchester City supposedly bidding €100 million for Diomande, a claim Romano insists is false, since City have been out of the race for a while. Plettenberg fired back, accusing Romano of publishing premature "Here We Go" posts for engagement rather than confirmed facts, and questioned his overall reporting standards on this deal specifically.
What both journalists do actually agree on: Paris Saint-Germain, once considered contenders, are reportedly out of the race, and Real Madrid remain firmly the favourites to land Diomande this summer. The disagreement is over timing and certainty, not destination.
For now, the only verified facts are these: Diomande has a personal agreement with Real Madrid, no club-to-club fee has been publicly confirmed, and both of football's most followed transfer reporters are standing by their own version of events. Whether he's a Real Madrid player next week, as Romano suggests, or still a Leipzig player pending further talks, as Plettenberg maintains, should become clear soon enough — transfers this far along rarely stay unresolved for long.
