Real Madrid Step Up Konaté Interest — Liverpool Defender Yet to Sign New Deal

Ibrahima Konaté continues to attract serious interest from Real Madrid, with the Spanish giants stepping up their long-standing pursuit of the Liverpool defender. The Frenchman, whose current deal at Anfield runs until June 2026, is now firmly in Madrid’s sights — and he’s already rejected two new contract offers from Liverpool.

This development has been brought to light once again by José Félix Díaz, the journalist closest to Real Madrid — think Paul Joyce for Liverpool fans. When José Félix speaks, you stop scrolling. He was the first to report Madrid’s interest in Konaté, and now says the club is quietly preparing a move, potentially timed for January 2026, when the player would be free to negotiate with other clubs.

Madrid are taking the same strategic approach they’ve used successfully before: track players entering the final stretch of their contracts, build the groundwork behind the scenes, and move decisively when the time is right. The big question now is whether Konaté follows the Trent Alexander-Arnold model — playing out his contract before making the switch — or chooses to extend his stay on Merseyside.

Liverpool, for their part, don’t want a repeat of the Trent situation and are reportedly growing increasingly uneasy, knowing they could lose another key asset without a proper return.

With injury doubts surrounding Madrid’s backline and Tchouaméni still having to fill in as a makeshift centre-half, there’s no question that Madrid could use a natural defender like Konaté. His arrival would allow Tchouaméni to return full-time to midfield — a move that Xabi Alonso would surely welcome.

Madrid see Konaté as a perfect fit: physically imposing, tactically intelligent, and capable of slotting into their long-term project. With groundwork already being laid by Madrid’s sporting department, this one could gather pace quickly.

Earlier this week, journalist Sacha Tavolieri claimed that “Konaté’s entourage has informed Real Madrid that he wishes to join them and the defender is willing to wait until 2026 to join as a free agent, just like Trent Alexander-Arnold.”

We didn’t report on that at the time because, in truth, it wasn’t new. The same claim had already surfaced a couple of weeks ago, and while content aggregators on social media hyped it up again, it simply repeated what was already known.

The real story? When José Félix Díaz — the closest journalist to Real Madrid — starts reiterating interest, it’s not a rumour. It’s a warning.

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