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Most Liverpool fans are aware of the news from France that emerged this week Thursday.

Foot Mercato reported that the Frech defender has informed the club that he intends to let his contract run down and seek “a change of scenery” when his current deal expires in June 2026.

Contract extension talks have reached an impasse, with the France international reportedly demanding a 40 percent pay rise on fixed terms – far beyond the structure of Liverpool’s latest offer, which is said to lean heavily on performance-related incentives

The defender currently earns around £80,000 per week.

It has been reported that he is seeking closer to £200,000 per week in basic wages while Liverpool remains reluctant to overcommit on fixed terms.

The stalemate has alerted Europe’s elite.

Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain are understood to be monitoring Konate’s situation closely, with the Spaniards widely reported as his preferred destination.

At 26 years old and among the best central defenders in the world, Konate represents a significant coup on a free transfer next summer.

But after the report from France on Thursday, it’s worth reminding that the defender already spoke quite openly about his contract situation on the final day of last season:

“You know, I just want to say one thing: everything you saw on social media is completely fake,” Konate told reporters via the Athletic.

“I didn’t even ask for something from the club.

They made me an offer and I replied to them with something, that is it.”

“The rest (speculation) that I want to wait until the end… I want this, all of it is completely fake.”

He then referenced reports from November that his deal was almost agreed:

“And even the big journalists said in November that I am very close to signing the deal.

I was like: ‘Ah, they have more information than me?!”

“It was not true at that moment, and that is why I was a little bit mad because it was not true at that moment.”

“I knew at one moment people would think I didn’t want to sign the contract, but I was never close to signing it?

We will see what will happen.”

In Konate’s own words, perhaps we should take further reports coming out of both France and the UK with a pinch of salt.

But should Konate not have agreed a deal before the end of the summer, the club will surely have to bite the bullet and sell the defender for as much as they can get this summer.

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