It’s been a very, very bad season for Liverpool Football Club on the pitch, and perhaps no individual player has seen his reputation suffer during that run than centre half Ibrahima Konaté.
The French international was regularly talked about as one of the best centre halves in England and Europe as recently as last season, but in 2025-26 he has instead regularly found himself criticised as the perceived weak link in a struggling defence.
Out of contract at the end of the season, there had been widespread speculation as recently as last summer that he was set to follow Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid. Now, though, that appears highly unlikely.
According to The Athletic’s [David Ornstein](https://x.com/David_Ornstein/status/1994312099720204737), Madrid have now informed Konaté and Liverpool that they do not intend to continue that pursuit. They have also regularly been linked with Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano as a potential centre half free transfer signing for next summer.
There have also been occasional suggestions Madrid could be interested in a third centre half on an expiring contract in Crystal Palace’s Marc Guéhi, a well known Liverpool target, but Upamecano and Konaté have been the two most consistently linked names.
In light of Liverpool and Konaté’s struggles, many will be quick to point to his poor form as the motivator for Madrid backing away, but last season Alexander-Arnold wasn’t at his best and they still closed that deal.
If they have multiple viable options this time around, though, it’s always possible recent form could impact their decision. It’s also possible they always rated Upamecano or another target higher and believe they have secured that deal and are backing off of a player seen as an alternate.
Regardless, Konaté hasn’t turned into a terrible player overnight. He remains one of the game’s top talents at his position, albeit a top talent currently mired in a horrific run of form along with many of his teammates.
Hopefully, then, with a Madrid move apparently off the table, he can work his way back to his best form with Liverpool and again show that he can be a cornerstone piece of the defence moving forward.
As for why Madrid would inform Liverpool of their decision, while they use press outlets to unsettle players, behind the scenes they have attempted to maintain a good relationship with the club—including quickly agreeing a £10M fee for Alexander-Arnold’s early release last summer.
See More:
* [Liverpool Transfer News & Rumours](/liverpool-fc-transfer-news)