Image Credits: Imago Images
Ibrahima Konate will leave Liverpool when his contract expires next month, with no agreement reached over an extension.
The 27-year-old, signed from RB Leipzig in a £36m deal five years ago, had recently indicated his desire to stay long-term following the 2-1 win over Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium last month.
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However, months of negotiations between his representatives and the club have failed to produce a breakthrough, and he is now set to depart as a free agent at the end of June.
His exit is a major setback for head coach Arne Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes ahead of a crucial summer window. Liverpool have already completed the signing of Jeremy Jacquet from Stade Rennais in a deal worth around £60m agreed earlier this year.
The French defender was initially seen as added depth alongside captain Virgil van Dijk and Giovanni Leoni, but Konate’s expected departure leaves Liverpool needing further reinforcements at centre-back, with wider squad planning also focused on replacing Mohamed Salah.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has named two reasons why Konate will not sign a new contract. Romano said on his YouTube channel: “Ibrahima Konate and Liverpool, the story is over.
“The deal is off. So Konate is going to leave Liverpool on a free transfer this summer and that’s a big story because in April, the agreement between Ibrahima Konate and Liverpool was very close.
“Two things were missing. The length of the contract was okay, and the salary was okay. One was linked to the bonuses in his contract. So, in terms of every single bonus when you do important contracts with important players, you can include a bonus when you win the Premier League.
“A bonus if you win the Champions League and all this sort of stuff, and then also how to activate some of the normal bonuses.
“So the extra bonuses were about winning trophies and then the other regular bonuses about number of appearances or these sorts of things.
“So that’s what they call easy or difficult bonuses. The agreement on these two points was never done. Ibrahima was very confident. Ibrahima Konate went to the press in April and said that we are close to signing a new contract.
“So when a player goes public like this, you know the agreement is almost done and that was the case because again a salary structure and length of the contract were ready but then suddenly deal off no agreement on these final details.
“They took weeks and weeks negotiating, and then the deal has collapsed. So Ibrahima Konate leaves Liverpool after five years at the club.
“Let’s see where it goes because there was strong interest from Real Madrid till few months ago. Then Real Madrid decided not to go for Konate around January, February, because they wanted to respect Liverpool and they didn’t want to break their relationship with Liverpool.
“So Real Madrid informed Liverpool they were not going to do another free deal from Liverpool after Trent Alexander-Arnold in 2025 and that was the message.
“Now Ibrahima Konate is free. So we have to see if Real Madrid decide to return on him or not. There are other clubs interested in Ibrahima Konate. Now he will start exploring the market. So for sure, a really interesting situation to follow.”
Konate made 183 appearances for Liverpool across all competitions. He won the Premier League, the FA Cup, and two League Cups during his time at Anfield.