Yan Diomande is a summer transfer target for Liverpool and is currently impressing at the World Cup
Liverpool summer transfer target Yan Diomande has opened up on the tragic death of his sister Roxane aged just 15.
Winger Diomande, 19, is one of European football’s hottest properties having shone in his maiden season for German side RB Leipzig, and Liverpool are in talks to sign the Ivory Coast star this summer.
Diomande is currently impressing at the World Cup, where he shone in his side’s opening victory over Ecuador, and has enjoyed a rapid rise in recent years having initially failed to make it at a series of professional clubs.
In a moving piece for The Players’ Tribune, Diomande has now reflected on the loss of his sister, who was a key figure in his formative football years as he tried to make it as a professional in both Europe and the US.
After failing trials at Bournemouth, Chelsea, Rangers, Olympiakos and Crystal Palace, as well as failing to gain interest from B teams in the MLS, Diomande signed for Spanish side Leganes.
But a few weeks after making his debut against Real Madrid he received the dreadful news that his sister had died aged just 15 after having a drink spiked.
Reflecting on crying tears of joy with Roxane after his Leganes debut, Diomande wrote: “That was back when I used to have emotions. Now, I don’t feel anything. It’s like I’m not even human. Since you died, I’m just blank.
“I don’t even think I shed a tear the day they told me that you were gone. I was just in shock.
“It was a few weeks after I made my debut for Leganes. Who makes their debut at 18 against Real Madrid? It was too crazy. It was a dream.
“And then it was a nightmare. Someone kept calling me from back home. I was annoyed. I didn’t understand why they kept calling me.
“I picked up, and they didn’t even soften it. You know how it is back home. No emotions. Just…….. Your sister is gone.”
“What?”
“She died.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Somebody put something in her drink at a party, and she never woke up. She is gone.”
“You were 15. 15.
“I never got any answers. I don’t know if I want to know why. Maybe it was jealousy. Maybe it’s just something that happens in our country. Maybe I could have protected you. I don’t know.
“I try to trust God’s plan. It’s all I can do. I don’t try to forget, because I know I won’t forget. All I can do is use the pain to work harder, and to do everything we dreamed about.
“I wrote this because I can’t speak about it. I wrote this because I want you to know that I will make sure that you live on. I will make sure that everybody knows your name. The whole world.
“Everything I do on a football pitch, it’s for you.”
Diomande is next in action at the World Cup in Ivory Coast’s clash with Germany on Saturday.
Read the full article in The Players’ Tribune
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