Premier League champions, Liverpool have slapped a £43.5m fee on French defender Ibrahima Konaté amid transfer interest from Real Madrid, Softfootball reports.
The France international has been a rock for the Reds since he arrived at the club and played a massive role as they won their 20th league title last season.
According to Transfer News Live, Konaté is attracting strong interest from 15-time UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid for a potential move this summer.
The Los Blancos have already signed three defenders this season. Xabi Alonso’s side already signed Trent Alexander-Arnold from the Anfield club.
A move that divided opinions among fans with some feeling he betrayed the club by leaving after over a decade at Merseyside while others simply understood his decision and accepted it because of the service he rendered to the club through the years.
Real Madrid also signed Bournemouth defender, Dean Huijsen and Alvaro Carreras. Carreras was a former Manchester United defender who Real Madrid paid €50m for from Benfica and 20% of that fee would go back to the Red Devils as included in the contract signed with the Portuguese club two seasons ago.
He penned a six-year deal with Los Blancos, running to 2031and was presented to fans of the club on Tuesday.
Real Madrid has firmly stated their interest in Konaté but won’t meet Liverpool’s demand of £43.5m. They are only ready to offer between €20-25m for the services of 26-year-old. Just like the Kylian Mbappé situation when they were trying to get him from Paris Saint-Germain, Konaté got just a year left on his contract and wants a huge salary as he approaches his peak.
Konaté has already rejected two contract offers from Liverpool for this reason and feel Real Madrid can offer him more weekly wages than what he is demanding from Liverpool. Also, he has the advantage of leaving for a free if he stays until the end of the 2025/26 campaign.
Liverpool do not want to lose Konaté for free and are trying to sell him for £43.5m to any interested buyer but the defender only wants Real Madrid which puts the Reds in a difficult spot.
Softfootball reported earlier that Liverpool risk losing Konaté like they did with Alexander-Arnold unless they can offer him what he demands or they would be forced to accept Real Madrid’s cheeky offer for the player.
Konaté joined Liverpool four years ago from RB Leipzig for £36m and has played 132 games for Liverpool across all competitions. This includes appearances in the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, and UEFA Champions League.
