Yan Diomande records grim statistic among top 10 most expensive signings
Real Madrid star Yan Diomande has yet to start a match in his first five appearances, a unique outlier among the top 10 most expensive transfers in history.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Author: Alejandro Ramos
Yan Diomande is facing a difficult start to his time at Real Madrid. Despite being one of the ten most expensive players in football history, the Ivorian forward has yet to secure a place in the starting lineup for his new club.
Following his high-profile transfer, Diomande has featured in five matches for the Spanish giants, but he has been limited to appearances off the bench in every single game. His brief cameos against Espanyol, Real Sociedad, Malaga, Real Betis, and Inter Milan have yielded no goals or assists, highlighting a slow integration into the team.
A report from EFE shows that this statistic makes Diomande a unique outlier among the top 10 most expensive deals. Every other player on that list—including stars like Neymar and Enzo Fernandez—managed to start at least one match within their team's first five games following their move.
For context, established record-breakers like Neymar and Kylian Mbappe were immediately integrated into the starting XI upon their arrivals. Even Alexander Isak, who joined Liverpool without a full pre-season, started three of the four matches he was involved in during his opening period.
The current situation for Diomande remains an anomaly. He stands alone as the only player among the top 10 most expensive signings in history who has failed to start any of his team's first five matches since his arrival.