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Ibrahima Konate is now widely expected to leave Liverpool this summer unable to agree a new deal at the club.
His future at Anfield has been the subject of intense speculation for the better part of a year, with his contract set to expire this summer.
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Back in April, Konate himself gave Liverpool fans a reason for cautious optimism, saying there was a “big chance” he would still be at the club next season and that talks with sporting director Richard Hughes were progressing well.
Despite those encouraging words, it was widely reported on Thursday night that the Frenchman is now slated to leave the club on a free transfer.
Now L’Equipe’s Hugo Delom has reported that all of Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid are weighing up an offer for Ibrahima Konate.
“Real Madrid, Bayern and Chelsea are in the ranks.”
“Offensives concrete enough for them to make the Frenchman think. Real Madrid, for example, has always maintained contact to try to seduce the former Sochaux. Bayern Munich too. In England, Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea intend to try their luck. Konate is not expected to travel to the United States for the World Cup on June 10 knowing his future.”
However it’s presented, this situation does not look good on Liverpool. The club triggered his £35 million release clause at RB Leizpig back in 2021.
Letting that profile of player leave for nothing just as he should be entering his prime, would inevitably raise questions over how the situation has been allowed to drift and whether the club moved decisively enough once it became clear an agreement was not close.
Konate, still only 27, is at an age where any club signing him now would be getting a defender approaching his peak years – and that reality has not gone unnoticed among Europe’s elite.
It would also be a sad way for the Frenchman to leave, having not got a proper farewell on the final day of the 2025/26 season.