Real Madrid Prepares for New Season Amidst Diomande's Absence

Real Madrid edge towards the new season with the familiar hum of expectation growing louder. The friendlies are flying by, the fitness work is sharpening, and the first La Liga fixture is already looming on the horizon.

Next up comes the Teresa Herrera Trophy against Deportivo La Coruna, the penultimate stop on their pre-season tour and, usually, a decent barometer of where the team stands.

Diomande missing from the list

Jose Mourinho named his squad earlier today for Wednesday’s clash. The roll call carried few surprises: the headline names are there, Vinicius Jr. and Endrick included, as Madrid begin to resemble something close to their competitive shape.

But one name was conspicuously absent.

Yan Diomande, the club’s blockbuster summer signing, has not made the cut.

According to Mario Penalver’s latest update, the reason is simple and brutally old-fashioned: he is not fit enough yet. Not injured. Not wrapped in cotton wool. Just short of the physical level Mourinho demands, even for a pre-season outing.

Diomande only arrived at the club’s facilities last Friday and has taken part in just two training sessions with the group. For a player stepping into a new environment, a new league, and a new level of scrutiny, that is nowhere near the rhythm required.

So on Wednesday night, he will be in street clothes, not boots, watching from the sidelines as his new teammates continue their tune‑up. His eyes will already be on Sunday, when Real Madrid face Schalke in their final pre-season game.

That is the date ringed on the calendar for his debut.

A few more sessions, a few more days of tactical work and conditioning, and the club expect him to be ready to pull on the shirt for the first time.

The weight of €140 million

The wait matters because of what Diomande represents.

Real Madrid did not just sign another promising player this summer. They went all in. Negotiations dragged on for weeks with RB Leipzig before the Merengues finally agreed to a gross package of €140 million for the Ivory Coast international.

That figure does not just sit in an accounting ledger. It hangs over every touch he will take in a white shirt.

The deal makes Diomande the most expensive signing in Real Madrid’s history. More than the galácticos who came before him. More than any forward, any playmaker, any superstar the club has paraded at the Santiago Bernabéu.

It is a prestigious label. It is also a burden.

Not everyone copes with the pressure of this club. The standards are unforgiving, the spotlight relentless. Add the heaviest price tag the institution has ever carried, and the margin for error narrows even more.

Diomande will feel that from the first minute he steps on the pitch. Every performance will be measured against that €140 million. Every quiet game will be framed as a concern, every mistake as a question mark over the investment.

That is why these days of preparation matter. Why Mourinho and his staff will not rush him for the sake of a friendly trophy. Madrid need him ready not just to play, but to dominate.

His debut, likely against Schalke, will be the first test of how he handles all of it – the shirt, the fee, the noise.

For a player in his position, starting well is not a luxury. It is the first condition of survival.