🇨🇮❤️🩹 Yan Diomandé shared a deeply moving tribute to his younger sister Roxane, who passed away at just 15 years old. ⤵️
The Ivorian international looks back on his childhood in Abidjan, when he played wearing a fake Manchester United shirt on which he had written “Ronaldo 7” in black marker.
"Do you remember when someone bought me that fake United shirt and I wrote ‘Ronaldo 7’ on the back with a black marker? Do you remember when we used to sit together and dream about living in France?
That we would go shopping and have our own apartment, that I would become a rich footballer with cars and a big house, and that you would never have to worry about anything.
You were the one who always believed I would be the next Cristiano, when everyone else laughed.
I had trials at Bournemouth, Chelsea, Rangers, Olympiacos, Crystal Palace…
Even MLS reserve teams didn’t want me. I didn’t even know why. My visa expired. My dream was over. They sent me back to Africa, and we cried together.
You were the only one who never stopped believing. A few weeks later, I signed for Leganés, and we cried different tears.
Today, I feel nothing. It’s as if I’m no longer even human. Since you died, I’m just empty.
I broke down, and they didn’t even try to soften the blow. No emotions. Just: ‘Your sister is gone.’ Someone put something in her drink at a party, and she never woke up. She was gone. You were 15 years old. Fifteen years old.
Tomorrow, we leave for the World Cup. For real. Your brother is going to play for Ivory Coast, like Drogba, like Yaya, like Gervinho.
Every time I score a goal, I’ll make sure everyone knows your name. I will fulfill what you predicted, I swear it. I will prove that you were right, or I will die trying."