Ibrahima Konate is set to become Jose Mourinho’s first signing as Real Madrid manager after reaching a verbal agreement to join the Spanish giants on a free transfer from Liverpool, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Konate confirmed he would be ending his five-year spell at Anfield when his contract expires at the end of the month, having seen talks break down over an extension.
Romano has confirmed that Real Madrid have now reached a verbal agreement to sign Konate on a four-year deal, although it will depend on if Florentino Perez wins his campaign to be re-elected as the club’s president later this week.
Should Perez continue in his role, Konate’s transfer is expected to go through alongside Mourinho’s appointment, with the Benfica manager already understood to have signed his contract to become Madrid boss.
Discussions are still ongoing over the final details of Konate’s contract and a deal has not been formally agreed yet but the Frenchman is expected to close negotiations swiftly after Madrid’s elections, which are due to be held on June 7.
Konate is said to have put bids from Saudi Arabia ‘on hold’ in order to join Los Blancos, with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich having also held a long-standing interest in him.
Konate joined Liverpool in 2021 from RB Leipzig for €40 million and the 27-year-old has established himself as one of the standout defenders in the Premier League during his time on Merseyside.
Liverpool had been desperate to keep hold of Konate and opted against cashing in on him last summer in the hopes that they could convince their star defender to sign a new deal despite the substantial interest from some of Europe’s top sides.
Konate admitted in April that he was close to signing a new deal with Liverpool but talks collapsed in recent weeks, with Romano previously stating that the breakdown was related to bonuses.
Liverpool are now set to lose another key player to Real Madrid for a second successive year and, with Andoni Iraola set to replace sacked Arne Slot as manager, the Reds are expecting to have a huge summer of transformation following a disappointing campaign.
Football Transfer
