Romano and German Journalist Clash Over Diomande Transfer

The transfer of Ivorian winger Yan Diomande to Real Madrid has become the center of a public feud between two of the most renowned transfer journalists, Italian Fabrizio Romano and German Florian Plettenberg, following a series of criticisms exchanged on the platform "X".

The story began when Fabrizio Romano announced the completion of Diomande's transfer to Real Madrid using his famous phrase "Here We Go", confirming that the deal was finalized. However, Florian Plettenberg came out to assert that the agreement between Real Madrid and Leipzig has not yet been settled, pointing out that if there were a final agreement, the transfer fee would be known, and negotiations are still ongoing.

Fabrizio Romano responded to Plattenberg, saying: "Don't worry, Dumandi will move to Real Madrid just as Klopp moved to the Germany national team. Ask about the false news that circulated yesterday regarding Manchester City's €100 million offer for Dumandi, while they had already dropped out of the race days ago, and Real Madrid had already advanced in negotiations. They are good at talking about others (and not even good at that, they can't even point to me), but... check your news first, then talk about me."

Florian Plettenberg responded: "Well... wow. When you accuse us of spreading 'fake news' about the 'Manchester City offer,' which we never published, you have unfortunately crossed the line. I never wanted to bring this up, but your report on Klopp was simply ridiculous and disrespectful to every journalist doing their job properly. Just one day after the German Football Association officially announced his appointment, you came out with the phrase 'Here we go.' You announce a deal as if it were finalized, and after nearly a week, nothing has happened. Honestly, I thought you would have enough respect to avoid that."

He added: "Anyone could have posted the 'Here we go' for Klopp, as it was clear he would become the coach of the German national team. Your report was based on probabilities, not actual agreements, and as long as you continue to delete incorrect 'Here we go' posts and publish match results just minutes before the final whistle due to algorithms and your desire to be faster than pages like 433 and live score apps, only to delete them five minutes later when Neymar scores, perhaps you should tone down your rhetoric a bit. The same applies when you fail to credit the original source in a significant portion of your Instagram posts. Do your job, and we will do ours. But accusing others of spreading lies seems incredibly ironic coming from someone in your position. Good night."

Romano wrote: "You start with the accusations, then you say that I am the one who crossed the line. At least I see now that you have learned how to reference accounts, very good, perhaps I should publish the private messages you sent me years ago when you asked me: 'How do I increase my followers?' or said: 'Your work is my inspiration'... And now you are trying to teach me how to practice this profession! But I will not take things out of context as you did."

He added: "I have already responded to you on the same topic, which is Diomande, and I shared your tweet where you said: 'Manchester City is ready to make an offer'... But you shifted to discussing other topics, continue on this path, and in this case, it’s better to ask at Anfield about the number 10 shirt. And remember that you were the one who started this circus with your post confirming that Diomande's transfer to Real Madrid would happen 'for sure.' This is my last response. Enjoy."

Florian Plettenberg stated: "It's good to know, you and others, that you are ready to share private messages and internal conversations. It's an unfortunate development. Unlike you, I will keep our conversations private; you have been a role model for many, and for me as well. But unfortunately, you are no longer that. I am just grateful that I can still be a role model for others. I will send you the number 10 shirt with a personal message if the player ever wears it, and in the meantime, I will check if there is still a shirt for Marc Guéhi available at Anfield. Wasn't that one of your 'Here we go' posts?"

Continuing on, he stated: "Another thing: in my world, the phrase 'interested in' is not the same as 'wants' or 'demands'. Fortunately, the story of (Firtz to Liverpool) has been settled for a long time, and you will know the rest of the details elsewhere one day. Your biggest problem to this day is that you consider anything you don't know or don't have to be automatically wrong or never happened. Luckily, you don't know everything, and even at this moment, I still don't understand exactly what happened with the number 10 shirt story. But I'm always happy to learn. I wish you a happy day."

Fabrizio Romano stated: "Florian, to attack me over 'Here we go' (which came after the medical in London and a verbal agreement) on a deal you yourself described as done... this might be your greatest achievement, let's get back to work. Good morning."