Real Madrid chiefs think 'they are close' to Ibrahima Konate agreement amid Liverpool contract struggle
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(Credit: Hasan Karim - Breaking Media)
Oliver Walton
Thu 11 September 2025 18:18, UK
Real Madrid’s stance on signing Ibrahima Konate ahead of his Liverpool contract expiry has been revealed as the Reds stall in talks to extend his current deal.
Liverpool’s recent Premier League title success was fronted by a strong centre-back pairing of Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk, who helped the Reds keep the most clean sheets in the league as a team, with 14.
The French international has been with the Merseyside club since a £36million move from RB Leipzig in 2021, and has made 136 appearances in the four years that have followed.
Football Insider revealed in May that Real Madrid were “very interested” in signing Konate, and Liverpool wanted to sign Marc Guehi at the end of the window but could not get the move over the line, with both players eventually remaining at their respective sides.
Liverpool have recently offered Konate a new contract, after he rejected an approach earlier in the summer due to being left disappointed with the wages on offer, but a new development has revealed how those at Real Madrid are feeling about landing him next summer.
Credit: Imago
Well-connected former scout Mick Brown told Football Insider on Tuesday (9 September) Konate is edging closer to agreeing to leave Liverpool amid concerns about his future role in Arne Slot’s side.
According to a new report from the Daily Mail (11 September), their sources in Spain have revealed that senior club staffers at Madrid have openly discussed how they believe they are close to a verbal agreement with Konate.
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Real are reportedly growing in confidence in tempting the 26-year-old to join them, as he would be free to sign a pre-contract agreement in January, but the report also states that Konate has not communicated any desire to leave to Anfield at this stage and has not yet fully made up his mind about his next decision.
Slot’s desire to bolster his backline options following Liverpool’s Premier League title win saw them track Guehi all summer, yet they failed to capture him after waiting until too close to the deadline to make a genuine approach to Palace for his services.
Football Insider revealed on Saturday (6 September) that Liverpool are ready to wait until next summer to sign Guehi, and The Times (7 September) have also reported that the Reds will not revisit their interest in the 25-year-old in the January window.
AppearancesGoalsAssists16094Guehi’s Crystal Palace career stats
If Guehi does join the Anfield outfit, then it certainly seems unlikely that Konate would sign any kind of contract in the near future.
Both players are good enough to be starters, yet Virgil van Dijk’s presence in the backline means there is only one place up for grabs, and it would make little sense for Konate to stay on Merseyside just to compete with Guehi, instead of potentially joining another top club like Madrid and being a regular starter.