![\"Ibrahima](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0_Liverpool-v-West-Ham-United-Premier-League-Football-Anfield-Liverpool-UK-28-Feb-2026.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIbrahima Konate will join Real Madrid on the expiry of his Liverpool contract later this month<\/p>\n
Ibrahima Konate will leave Liverpool for Real Madrid this month(Image: Paul Currie\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
Ibrahima Konate’s on-off switch from Liverpool to Real Madrid will finally be completed later this month on the expiry of his Anfield<\/a> contract. But a former World Cup-winning centre-back has his doubts over the move.<\/p>\n Konate<\/a> enjoyed five seasons with the Reds, winning the Premier League<\/a> title, the FA Cup<\/a>, and two League Cups, but he is on his way out of Merseyside after failing to agree a new contract with the club.<\/p>\n The 27-year-old defender was linked with a move to Madrid earlier in the season but interest from the LaLiga giants appeared to have cooled following a slump in form.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, he will finally complete a free transfer to the Bernabeu, where he will be reunited with former Reds defender Trent Alexander-Arnold<\/a>.<\/p>\n The move can be seen as a watershed moment for Konate<\/a> but Frank Leboeuf, who won the World Cup with France in 1998 and the European Championship two years later, is not yet convinced that his compatriot will be a success in Madrid.<\/p>\n Speaking to BOYLE Sports, who are offering World Cup odds<\/a>, Leboeuf said: “Ibrahima Konate was one of the best defenders in the world a year and a half ago.<\/p>\n “With Virgil van Dijk<\/a>, that pairing was incredible. However, last season, both of them, along with many other Liverpool<\/a> players, were only shadows of themselves.<\/p>\n “If Ibrahima can get back to his best, it would be fantastic for Real Madrid. He would be partnering with Dean Huijsen, that would be great. I would love to see that pairing at their best. Now, I have my doubts, so I will have to wait and see how it works.<\/p>\n “I saw the (France) game against Ivory Coast, and Ibrahima is still not quite there, which is sad because he is a fantastic player. I love the guy, his personality, and his mentality.<\/p>\n “He is a great player, but he needs to return to his best form. It is a good move for him after what he achieved at Liverpool.<\/p>\n “I think Liverpool fans should say thank you to him, just as they should have for Trent Alexander-Arnold. There comes a time when players have the right to leave their clubs because they have served them 100%. Ibrahima gave everything, and Trent gave even more.<\/p>\n “Liverpool fans should thank them. When they come back, if they ever do, they deserve a standing ovation. That is what makes a club great.<\/p>\n “Liverpool is a different club with a different mentality, the fans should show that to the world. Don’t be bitter when someone leaves, just be proud.”<\/p>\n Konate is in the France squad that has travelled to the World Cup in Mexico, Canada and the USA.<\/p>\n Les Bleus will get their campaign underway on Tuesday, when they face Senegal in a Group I fixture in the New York New Jersey (MetLife) Stadium.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ibrahima Konate will join Real Madrid on the expiry of his Liverpool contract later this month Ibrahima Konate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":734582,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,86689,7886,85],"class_list":["post-734581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-ibrahima-konate","tag-liverpool-fc","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=734581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/734582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=734581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=734581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=734581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}