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<\/p>\nComments from the former Liverpool defender have emerged<\/p>\n
Ibrahima Konate looks set to join Trent Alexander-Arnold at Real Madrid(Image: Richard Sellers\/Allstar, Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Trent Alexander-Arnold will no doubt be delighted to learn that his former Liverpool team-mate Ibrahima Konate<\/a> appears destined to join him in the Spanish capital this summer<\/a>. At least, that is if the ex-Reds star’s past comments are anything to go by.<\/p>\n Following months of rumour and speculation, Konate is poised to put pen to paper at Real on a free transfer after it was confirmed <\/a>he will depart Liverpool <\/a>when his contract expires. The French centre-back arrived at Anfield<\/a> in the summer of 2021 and forged a close bond with Alexander-Arnold, who made the switch to Real <\/a>last summer.<\/p>\n Their potential reunion will come as welcome news to the England full-back. The former team-mates have been lavish in their praise of one another over the years, with Alexander-Arnold singing Konate’s praises following Liverpool’s Champions League<\/a> final showdown with Real in 2022.<\/p>\n FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo’s dedicated LFC Facebook page<\/a><\/p>\n Get the best Liverpool FC news and analysis straight to your Inbox courtesy of the Echo!<\/p>\n It’s as simple as 1-2-3.<\/p>\n Open the Echo’s newsletter preference centre RIGHT HERE.<\/a>Open up Sport.Choose Liverpool FC and hit Subscribe.<\/p>\n Despite the Reds falling to a 1-0 defeat that evening, Konate was utterly commanding throughout. “Wow. Outstanding,” Alexander-Arnold told Liverpool’s official website the following day. “The performance he put in yesterday, I’m lost for words. Words can’t do it justice.”<\/p>\n Reflecting on his growing friendship with Konate at the time, he added: “We’ve created a bond and he’s an amazing lad. The potential he has is ridiculous. The sky is the limit.”<\/p>\n Twelve months earlier, shortly after Konate had touched down at Liverpool from RB Leipzig in a \u00a336m deal, Alexander-Arnold had already made clear just how impressed he was with his new colleague.<\/p>\n “He’s a very athletic boy, which is probably something more common now with centre-backs,” he said. “Being amazing athletes, who are fast and strong and he ticks all those boxes. He’s still young. But he’s got huge potential.<\/p>\n Ibrahima Konate and Trent Alexander-Arnold celebrate Liverpool being named Premier League champions(Image: Andrew Powell\/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)<\/p>\n “I think obviously learning and playing next to Virgil [Van Dijk], he’s one of those players you instantly pick up things from \u2013 just his positioning and the way he commands the defence.”<\/p>\n The sentiment appears to be reciprocated. Ahead of England’s quarter-final clash with France at the 2022 World Cup, Konate spoke candidly about his close relationship with Alexander-Arnold, indicating he too would be eager to reunite with his former team-mate.<\/p>\n “It’s a rivalry that’s been around since the dawn of time,” Konate said in a press conference for France’s clash with the Three Lions. “Trent Alexander-Arnold sent me a message saying, ‘See you on Saturday, my brother’ because I’m very close to him.”<\/p>\n Konate had been in talks with the Reds over a potential contract renewal, but the two sides were unable to reach a resolution. In April, he claimed he was “close” to putting pen to paper on fresh terms and suggested he was eager to remain at Anfield.<\/p>\n Yet he will now bring the curtain down on his five-year spell at Anfield, having claimed the Premier League<\/a>, FA Cup<\/a> and two League Cups during that time.<\/p>\n Real Madrid are considered his most probable next destination. It would represent another significant transfer setback for the Reds. The Anfield side saw Alexander-Arnold depart for Los Blancos last summer, with Madrid paying a modest \u00a310m to sign the defender just weeks before his contract expired on Merseyside.<\/p>\n Buy Blood Red, our monthly Liverpool FC print publication for just \u00a33.50 by clicking here<\/a><\/p>\n Get Liverpool’s new 2026\/27 home kit<\/p>\n This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more<\/a> \u00a385<\/p>\n LFC Shop<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0_Screenshot-2026-06-03-at-133610.png\")
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