Ibrahima Konate is reportedly set to leave Liverpool as a free agent after failing to agree a new contract, with the French centre-back’s current deal due to expire next month
Ibrahima Konate is reportedly set to leave Liverpool after failing to reach agreement on fresh terms. Konate, 27, is approaching the end of his existing deal which runs out next month.
His agents held talks with the Liverpool hierarchy regarding an extension for several months, but the defender is now expected to leave as a free agent, as initially reported by Talksport.
Konate enjoyed five trophy-filled years at Anfield, having arrived at the Reds from German outfit RB Leipzig in 2021 for £36million.
The Frenchman will join fellow Liverpool stalwarts Mo Salah and Andy Robertson in departing the club this summer. Before the campaign concluded, Konate suggested he was on the verge of penning fresh terms and declared his desire to stay on Merseyside.
“For sure there is a big chance I’m here next season,” he said in April. “This is what I always wanted.
“I’m waiting to sort the contract but when everything is sorted you will have to ask (sporting director) Richard Hughes what I said to him in September, November and he’s going to say something to make everyone quiet.”
“Yes (it’s taken a long time) but this is a negotiation. With Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah last season it was exactly the same, I think they signed the contract in April and this is maybe how the club want it.”
Real Madrid were strongly linked with snapping up Konate on a free transfer but speculation over a switch died down following his sluggish start to the campaign. The France international remained a regular under Arne Slot alongside his long-standing centre-back partner Van Dijk.
Liverpool have already wrapped up a new centre-back for the 2026-27 season, bringing in Jeremy Jacquet from French outfit Rennes in a £60m deal. The Reds will also have Giovanni Leoni available after his maiden campaign was wrecked by injury, limiting him to just one outing.
But with Van Dijk’s deal running out in June 2027, combined with Robertson’s exit and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure last summer, the Liverpool defence is experiencing a massive overhaul.