Former Liverpool centre half Ibrahima Konate has had quite the time of it in the last few years. He was leaving Anfield, he was signing a new contract, his form fell off a cliff and as this week comes to a close, it has now been announced that he has signed for Spanish La Liga giants Real Madrid.
The 27 year old French international is currently on duty with his country at this summer’s World Cup which is hosted by the United States of America, Canada and Mexico. But with no new deal at Liverpool agreed – despite significant talk that one was on the cusp of being officially signed and announced – he has slipped into the domestic off season knowing his contract comes to an end when we tick into the month of July and he will then leave as a free agent.
Talk of Real’s interest in him had been bubbling away in the background for a while, but with the potential free agency confirmed, the negotiations between the two parties has been wrapped up pretty quickly here and Konate will feel he has won a crypto casino bonus by moving to the Galacticos. With his Liverpool deal ultimately falling down due to a late disagreement on value and wages, the Spanish side have released a statement announcing a new four year contract at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Having signed a five year deal at Anfield back in 2021 as he made a £35 million switch from RB Leipzig, he went on to feature 183 times for the club for their first team across all competitions, and he now leaves having won the Premier League title, the FA Cup and two League Cups.
With Jose Mourinho taking charge at Real for the second time and his own arrival being announced earlier this summer, Konate will be joining up with some very familiar faces as Manchester City’s Portuguese international, Bernardo Silva, and Chelsea’s Spanish international, Marc Cucurella, have already confirmed their own move to Los Blancos in the last few weeks.
Although his form improved by the end of the campaign, and he was far from the sole reason behind why Arne Slot’s side struggled during their title defence campaign, most Liverpool fans will be content to move on and focus in on what will be another huge season for them as they look to bounce back and new manager Andoni Iraola gets his feet firmly under his Anfield desk.
The club have just announced the capture of 22 year Spanish World Cup member Victor Munoz in a deal worth a reported £34.5 million deal with Osasuna. It was widely believed earlier in the week that Newcastle United were in prime position to capture his services with advanced talks talking place, but Liverpool swooped in and just agreed to meet his release fee to get the deal over the line.
Liverpool are said to also be heavily interested in Ivory Coast’s World Cup star, Yan Diomande, but those negotiations with RB Leipzig continue. Liverpool have reportedly offered a deal around the 100 million Euro mark (£86m), but the Red Bull side believe his value will increase this month and want in excess of 130 million Euros (£112m) to make a deal happen right now.
Image Source: unsplash.com
About the Author
