Ibrahima Konate to leave Liverpool after five years

FootballSports
29 May 2026 • 7:50 PM MYT
DPA International
DPA International

DPA, founded in 1949, one of the world’s leading independent news agencies

Ibrahima Konate is to leave Liverpool when his contract expires next month after failing to agree a new deal.

A month ago the centre-back confidently announced after the Merseyside derby win at Everton that a resolution was imminent.

However, the Press Association understands the club were unable to come to terms on the financial aspects and as a result the defender will leave Anfield next month after a five-year stay.

Konate had been linked with Real Madrid for most of the season as his contract ticked down but it appears a return to the city of his birth with Paris Saint-Germain looks more likely.

His departure gives Liverpool another headache they did not need heading into a crucial summer having said farewell to senior players Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson, and with head coach Arne Slot under pressure after a disappointing fifth-placed finish.

Rennes centre-back Jeremy Jacquet will arrive in a £60 million ($80.4 million) deal but he does not turn 21 until July, has played just 31 Ligue 1 matches and missed the last four months of the season with a shoulder injury sustained just a week after agreeing his deal with Liverpool.

Giovani Leoni will also return to the squad after suffering a season-ending knee injury on debut in September, but he is only 19.

It leaves captain Virgil van Dijk, who turns 35 in July, in need of a senior partner if Liverpool are to rectify their defensive weaknesses evident this season and could mean Joe Gomez, who has a year left on his deal, may not be ushered out of the door as quickly as first thought this summer.