While most of the focus so far this summer for Liverpool has been on transfer business, Ibrahima Konaté’s contract status has been a growing concern as the 26-year-old French international prepares to enter the final year of his deal.
The situation has been made clear by Real Madrid having signalled that they would be interested in signing Konaté on a free next summer should he run down his Liverpool deal as they recently did when signing Trent Alexander-Arnold.
And according to The Guardian, Konaté has rejected the club’s most recent contract offer. The player is said to have been unhappy with the wage structure, which as is standard at Liverpool includes a number of performance escalators.
The player is said to want a higher base wage than has been offered, and while it’s early enough in the summer there’s still time to come to an agreement, if one isn’t forthcoming in the next month or two it isn’t clear how the club might react.
Having already seen significant turnover this summer, and with further movement in both directions expected in the market it isn’t entirely clear if the club would seek to sell Konaté late in the window to avoid losing him on a free in a year.
If they do, there have been whispers of Paris Saint-Germain interest. Given it seems likely if Konaté doesn’t extend he would join Real Madrid in 2026, the French club’s best chance of signing him is likely now should the Reds decide to sell.