Yan Diomandé pays tribute to his sister, who died poisoned at 15

Yan Diomandé paid a poignant tribute to his younger sister Roxane, who died at the age of 15 after someone slipped a substance into her drink. The 19-year-old Ivorian winger published an open letter on Wednesday to honour her, just days after being named man of the match in Ivory Coast’s 1-0 victory over Ecuador at the 2026 World Cup.

In the letter, the RB Leipzig player recalls childhood memories shared in Abidjan: a fake Manchester United shirt on which he had written “Ronaldo 7” in black marker, football matches on dirt pitches where the older boys in the neighbourhood had nicknamed him “Roberto Carlos” for the power of his shots. Simple images, carried by an intact brotherly affection.

“We didn’t even know if we were rich or poor, we were just happy,” he writes. He recalls that Roxane, from the age of 10, would scold his friends to keep training: “Yan won’t buy you cars.” A maturity that Diomandé describes, with affection, as that of his “first agent”.

The letter ends with a solemn promise. Diomandé recalls that his sister was the only one, when everyone else laughed, who believed he would become “the next Cristiano”. “You always said I could be better than Cristiano. If I see him up there, I’ll say hello from you. I will accomplish what you predicted, I swear. I will prove you were right or I will die trying.”

After time in Florida before joining Europe, Diomandé has established himself as one of the most watched players at the 2026 World Cup. His name is circulating in the corridors of Europe’s biggest clubs, including PSG and Liverpool. On and off the pitch, the young Ivorian seems to carry far more than just a number on his back.