After a humiliating defeat of 0-4 before PSG in the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, Real Madrid quickly planned to strengthen forces and determined the top goal. It was Liverpool center -back Ibrahima Konate.
In the defeat of PSG, serious personal mistakes of Antonio Rudiger and Raul Asencio made Real Madrid conceded two goals very early. Without the excellence of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, the score may be even darker.
Answering after the match, coach Xabi Alonso frankly admitted that the team needed more reinforcements: “We have not discussed that during the FIFA Club World Cup, but now we are ready to improve the squad. There is always room to upgrade.”
Currently, although Real Madrid has 5 central defenders in the first team, including rookie worth £ 50 million Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth. But the injury situation of Eder Militao and David Alaba made the center -back position a big question mark. Therefore, Konate emerged as the ideal name to complement the power of the defense.
According to AS (Spain), Konate really wants to join Real Madrid and have no intention of renewing the contract with Liverpool. This forced Liverpool to consider selling him right in the summer to avoid falling into a situation like Trent Alexander-Arnold, when the player entered the last year of the contract and still not close the future.
Real Madrid prioritized until the summer of 2026 to have Konate in a free form, but if a center -back left this summer, maybe David Alaba, then they would accelerate the deal. It is known that Real is only ready to spend about 20–25 million euros (17.2–21.5 million pounds) and will not raise prices higher.
On the side of Konate, The Guardian once reported that he was disappointed with the proposal to extend from Liverpool, because the basic salary was low and too much dependent on the terms of achievement. The negotiation was also delayed by Liverpool prioritizing the extension with Mohamed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk first.
Joining Liverpool from RB Leipzig in 2021 for £ 36 million, Konate played 132 times for the Anfield team, including 42 matches last season under coach Arne Slot. With the new age 25 and the peak competition experience, he is considered an ideal long -term solution for Real Madrid's defense.