Madrid’s two teams in La Liga have added some star power for the upcoming soccer season. On Saturday, Atletico Madrid signed attacking midfielder Kang-in Lee of Incheon, South Korea to a five-year contract through to 2031 and a transfer fee between 35 and 40 million euros from Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain according to the Associated Press. Then on Sunday, Real Madrid signed Ivory coast winger Yan Diamonde from Germany’s RB Leipzig for an astounding fee of 100 million Euros.
Diamonde was reportedly very close in going to Paris Saint Germain. However, RB Leipzig had an extremely large asking price for Diamonde, and they could not come to terms with the most successful European team in 2026.
This past season, Diamonde had 12 goals in 33 games with RP Leipzig. What is most remarkable about Diamonde is that he is only 19 years of age as he was born on November 14, 2006.
In 2025-26, Diamonde was the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season. He was second on Leipzig this past season in goals with 12. The only player with more goals on Leipzig was Austrian international Christoph Baumgartner, who had 13 goals. In 14 international games for Ivory Coast, Diamonde has scored thrice.
Since 2018, Lee has played for Valencia, Mallorca and Paris Saint-Germain. In 190 games at the club level in Europe over the last nine seasons, Lee has 21 goals. He is the only Asian player to win the Champions League twice (2025 and 2026 with Paris Saint-Germain). At the international level, Lee has 11 goals in 50 games for South Korea.
