Ibrahima Konate set to leave Liverpool as Real Madrid revive free-agent interest

Ibrahima Konate is expected to leave Liverpool as a free agent at the end of June, with Real Madrid re-emerging as a serious suitor after contract talks between the defender and the club stalled, journalist Ben Jacobs has reported.

Real Madrid have been tracking the 27-year-old France international since last summer, when he was identified as a primary target to fill the void left by David Alaba’s long-term absence and eventual departure. A deal appeared to be ruled out in November, but Konate has since returned to the club’s agenda.

Recent reports had suggested Konate was close to signing a new deal at Anfield, which would have ended Real Madrid’s hopes of landing him on a free transfer — a route the Spanish club have used to great effect in recent years, bringing in Antonio Rüdiger, Kylian Mbappé, and Trent Alexander-Arnold without a transfer fee. That picture has now changed.

With only weeks remaining on his current contract and his participation in the upcoming World Cup making meaningful negotiations difficult to schedule, it is considered unlikely that a new agreement will be reached before July. Liverpool and Konate remain far apart on terms, and the window for a resolution is narrowing rapidly.

Should Konate become available, the final call on pursuing him would fall to Real Madrid’s incoming head coach. Club president Florentino Pérez is currently standing for re-election, and reports in Spain suggest José Mourinho is the leading candidate for the managerial role if Pérez secures another term.

Real Madrid’s search for a central defender has been frustrated by a string of rejections this cycle, making Konate — an established Champions League winner with pace, physicality, and years of top-level experience — an attractive solution to a problem that has grown more pressing with each passing month.