Diomandé contradicts Mourinho: "He woke me up at five in the morning"

Yan Diomandé and José Mourinho are not telling the same story. While the Portuguese manager, back on the Real Madrid bench, claimed he did not request any particular player upon his return to the club, the Ivorian winger gave a radically different account in an interview with SportyTv.

“He woke me up at five in the morning and told me: ‘I want you in my team’,” Diomandé said, adding that he replied: “I’m happy to be part of your team, and I want to work with you, because it’s the best club.”

When asked about Real Madrid’s summer transfer window during a lengthy interview on El Chiringuito, Mourinho had been keen to clarify his position. “I arrived without asking anyone for anything, by carefully analyzing the squad and knowing clearly what I would like to see happen,” he explained, adding that he wanted to understand the club’s vision before expressing his own. According to him, Diomandé’s recruitment was primarily an initiative of president Florentino Pérez, to which he simply gave his approval. “I analyze the player’s profile, what he can bring to my team, and in that sense, I said: ‘Yes, I want him’. Whether it’s 120 or 80 million euros… that’s no longer my concern.”

The contradiction between the two versions does not seem to trouble the winger, who instead displays unwavering loyalty to his manager. “I would die for Mourinho,” he said, before highlighting the Portuguese coach’s mental impact: “He has a lot of personality, which is good for us, because sometimes when you’re young, you’re all over the place, and sometimes you lose your concentration. I think he’s a good manager for me, to continue my progression.”

Whether he came at Mourinho’s insistence or on Florentino Pérez’s decision, Diomandé seems in any case determined to establish himself at Real Madrid.