Real Madrid repeats familiar transfer trick with Ibrahima Konate after Arsene Wenger warning
Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Liverpool.com or go back to LFC Live.
Liverpool FC NewsTransfer NewsIbrahima KonatéIbrahima Konate looks set to follow in Trent Alexander-Arnold's footsteps to Real Madrid, and Arsene Wenger has warned he might be the last Liverpool player to move to the Bernabeu for nothingIbrahima Konate looks set to join Real Madrid after leaving Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)For the second year in a row, Liverpool looks set to lose one of its prized players to Real Madrid - and this time, there won’t be any compensation fee to soften the blow.Having failed to agree a new contract with the Reds - despite indicating a month ago that he would be staying - Ibrahima Konate now looks set to become the latest player to trade Anfield for the Bernabeu, following in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s footsteps.A player leaving at the end of their contract is nothing new for Liverpool. Fabrizio Romano claims he has reached a verbal agreement with Real as he continues a trend that Liverpool fans, among others, will be getting a little tired of.Alexander-Arnold and Konate’s exits over the past 12 months have followed a similar pattern.
Both were pursued by Real as their contracts ticked down, with the Spanish giant - the richest club in the world, don’t forget - making a habit of picking up its biggest signings for nothing - or next to nothing in the case of Alexander-Arnold.The same method has seen Kylian Mbappe, Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba move to the Spanish capital over the years, and former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger sees no end in sight to the strategy.Trent Alexander-Arnold also moved to Real Madrid after running his contract down at Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)“I believe that it [Trent transfer] shows the trend of transfers now, and it shows a new trend in the game,” Wenger told beIN Sports last year.“There is no transfer anymore for the big, big players. They say two years before the end of a contract we want to buy you, we give you these wages and we will try to make an offer to the club.Get Liverpool's new 2026/27 home kitThis article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it.
That is what they [Real Madrid] did with [Kylian] Mbappe as well.”Wenger’s words will no doubt be ringing in the ears of Liverpool fans, given more of the Reds’ players have been linked with a move to Madrid.Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister have both been touted to follow Alexander-Arnold and Konate to the Bernabeu. Both have contracts running until 2028 at Anfield and, especially in the case of Szoboszlai, fans will be hoping not to see Real pull the same trick.Choose Liverpool.com as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.Liverpool FCIbrahima KonatéArsene WengerReal Madrid CFTransfers