On one side is Max Gradel's agency, Maxidel Management; on the other is Roc Nation, the firm co-founded by rapper Jay-Z that currently handles Diomandé's affairs, per OK Diario.
Maxidel has filed a complaint with FIFA alleging breach of contract, given that Real Madrid have negotiated the deal with Roc Nation instead.
Maxidel is the agency that took the Ivory Coast forward from Leganés to RB Leipzig last year, and the dispute is not just an internal matter between agencies — it also touches the transfer itself, agreed between Leipzig and Madrid for a fee reported to be above €100m, with some outlets citing figures as high as €135m.
Real Madrid say they were unaware of the dispute and consider it unrelated to them, expecting to eventually be cleared of involvement, though they must navigate it in the meantime. One possible fix would be a provisional licence allowing Diomandé to be registered while the financial side of the disagreement is resolved, since every other part of the deal, the fee owed to Leipzig, the paperwork and the player's new contract, is essentially in place.
FIFA, which polices agents and representation firms strictly, has received Maxidel's complaint and is reviewing it. Under its rules, the governing body can delay or, in extreme cases, block a transfer's entry into its International Transfer Certificate system while a dispute between agents remains open, since clubs risk sanctions for paying commission to the wrong agent. FIFA's labour-law approach, however, generally favours a player's right to work at his new club regardless, leaving compensation claims to be settled separately.
Maxidel, run by former Ivory Coast international Max Gradel, still displays a photo of the Leipzig contract signing at the top of its Instagram page, and Leipzig continue to deal with the agency over Diomandé's representation. Diomandé, however, sought to join Roc Nation's roster in recent months, a firm well established in Brazil through agent Frederico Pena, who manages Vinícius Júnior and Endrick among others.
During his post-World Cup holiday in the US, Diomandé visited Roc Nation's New York offices and was invited to a Jay-Z show at Yankee Stadium, hosted by company executive Michael Yormark.