Ivory Coast star Yan Diomande pays moving tribute to late sister

Yan Diomande paid an emotional tribute to his sister Roxane, who passed away at the age of 15 after an incident in which she allegedly had her drink spiked. The Ivory Coast player said: “Everything I do on the field is for you.” The RB Leipzig striker, in an article published in Players' Tribune, revealed the pain he felt upon receiving the news of his sister's death, shortly after making his debut for Leganés in La Liga last year.

Diomande, 19, wrote: "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 in 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 achieve everything we dream of.

"I wrote this because I can't talk about it. I wrote it because I want you to know that I'm going to make sure you live. I'm going to make sure everyone knows your name. The whole world."


“Everything I do on the field is for you. So much has happened since the last time I saw you... You wouldn't believe it. I don’t know if I believe it myself.” The letter also details Roxane's influence on her brother while they were growing up in Abidjan, how he dreamed of emulating Cristiano Ronaldo and how she supported him through a series of club rejections following unsuccessful trials.

"They just kept taking me all over Europe, and everyone kept saying no," he wrote. "My visa was running out. My dream was over. They sent me back to Africa, and we cried together.

"You were the one who never stopped believing. A few weeks later, I signed with Leganés and we cried different tears." Written shortly before traveling to North America for the World Cup, the letter concludes with Diomande, who has already been linked with a move to Liverpool, promising to become the best player in the world.

"This is my chance to show the whole world what you saw in me. Every time I score, I will make sure everyone knows your name. I will make sure they don't forget you," he added. "You always said that I could be better than Cristiano. If I see you there, I will congratulate you. I will do what you predicted, I swear. Before you even had real boots, you told everyone: 'My brother is going to be the greatest in the world.'

"I'll prove you right, or I'll die trying." Diomande impressed in Ivory Coast's World Cup Group E opener against Ecuador, with a 1-0 win that left them second behind Germany on goal difference, before they meet in Toronto next Saturday.

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