Ibrahima Konate signs with European titans after leaving Liverpool on a free
Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Independent or go back to LFC Live.
Real Madrid have confirmed the signing of Ibrahima Konate on a free transfer after the France centre-back decided to leave Liverpool upon the expiry of his contract.The 27-year-old defender's departure from Anfield had already been announced by the Premier League club, with Real saying on Thursday that they “have reached an agreement for him to become a Real Madrid player for the next four seasons, until June 30, 2030.”Konate becomes the third player in the past week to line up a move to Real from the Premier League, following a £52m deal for Spain left-back Marc Cucurella from Chelsea on Monday and Bernardo Silva’s impending arrival as a free agent from Manchester City. The recently re-elected Florentino Perez has promised to rebuild the squad following a second straight trophyless season and he is also bringing Jose Mourinho back for a second spell as head coach.
Real, however, have been unable to sign Argentina forward Julian Alvarez from neighbours Atletico, who hit back sarcastically when rejecting a bid of £129m.Konate won a Premier League, FA Cup and two League Cups during his time at Anfield having been signed from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2021. He made 183 appearances for the club, scoring seven goals, but confirmed in May that he would be moving on once his contract concluded on 30 June.Talks had taken place over a new deal and it was expected midway through the season that an agreement would be reached before negotiations broke down.Instead he follows star forward Mohamed Salah, left-back Andrew Robertson and head coach Arne Slot out the Anfield door as the club aim to bounce back from a disappointing campaign in which they finished fifth in the Premier League, 25 points behind champions Arsenal.
Andoni Iraola was quickly appointed as Slot’s replacement, while Liverpool had previously agreed a deal to sign the 20-year-old French centre-back Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes in a £60m deal.In a statement last month confirming the departure of Konate, Liverpool said: "Konate will depart with our gratitude and appreciation for the contribution he made, and everyone at the club wishes him the best for the future."Konate was an unused substitute as France got their World Cup 2026 campaign underway with a 3-1 win against Senegal on Tuesday with Didier Deschamps’ preferring a partnership of Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano and Arsenal’s William Saliba.