Ibrahima Konate to make Real Madrid transfer after confirming Liverpool exit
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SportFootballLiverpool FCIbrahima Konate confirmed on Saturday he will leave Liverpool when his contract expires at the end of the monthIbrahima Konate is expected to become the latest player to swap Liverpool for Real Madrid having failed to agree a new contract with the Reds.Liverpool confirmed last Friday that centre-back Konate, who is out of contract at the end of the month, would leave this summer after talks over a new deal failed to reach an agreement.The France international confirmed the following day that his Anfield career - which saw him make 183 appearances and score seven goals since arriving from RB Leipzig in 2021 - was over when issuing a farewell message on social media.Konate signed off his post by stating: "This isn’t an easy goodbye, but it’s time for a new challenge and a new chapter."And it has now emerged Real Madrid are set to sign the 27-year-old once he becomes a free agent midway through the forthcoming World Cup, where Konate will appear with France.The deal, though, will only proceed should Florentino Perez be re-elected as Real Madrid president on Sunday. Perez will then appoint Jose Mourinho has new boss at the Bernabeu, which will in turn trigger an agreement with Konate.It comes after Real Madrid took the unusual step in November of informing Liverpool they had no intention of signing Konate should he have fallen out of contract this summer.The La Liga runners-up have subsequently U-turned on that stance after Liverpool were unable to broker a deal with the defender with the two sides too far apart in their valuations.Konate will join a growing list of those to have gone from Anfield to the Bernabeu.
He will link up with Trent Alexander-Arnold, who switched to the Spanish side for £8.4million last June.Xabi Alonso, Alvaro Arbeloa, Michael Owen and Steve McManaman have also previously made the same transfer.FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook pageChoose Liverpool Echo as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.Liverpool FCIbrahima Konate