Decision day for Ibrahima Konate! Real Madrid target reveals he will announce future plans 'very soon' as Liverpool contract nears expiry

Konate joined Liverpool in 2021 from RB Leipzig when Jurgen Klopp was still their manager. The French defender slowly established himself as a key figure in the Reds' backline, first under Klopp and then under Arne Slot. He played a key role in helping the Merseyside club win their record-equalling 20th English top-flight title last season. He has regularly featured for the club at the heart of their defence alongside Virgil van Dijk.

Despite being a key member of Slot's side, Konate is yet to commit his future to the club beyond 2026, while the Merseyside giants are also yet to offer a new deal to the player. The Frenchman can formally hold pre-contract talks with clubs outside England from January. Real Madrid continue to remain interested in the player and want to convince him not to sign a new deal and then join them as a free agent next summer. Madrid are also joined by Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, who are also in search of a quality centre-back option. 

Ahead of France's dead-rubber World Cup qualifying game against Azerbaijan in Baku on Sunday, Konate addressed questions on his future as he told reporters: "My agents continue to discuss with Liverpool. I hope my decision will be made very soon so I can announce it."

The defender rubbished rumours which claimed that Liverpool have already approached with a new contract, as he added: "I don’t know where that’s coming from."

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In a chat with Telefoot, Konate also revealed that he gets constant phone calls from his France team-mate and captain Kylian Mbappe, as he said that the 26-year-old Real Madrid star "calls me every two hours to sign for Real Madrid." Mbappe is determined to convince the Reds defender to join him at the Spanish capital next summer. 

There is no urgency in the Madrid camp when it comes to Konate's transfer, as Liverpool have only a few weeks to convince the player and make him sign a new deal before he starts to negotiate new offers. The La Liga side would want Konate to reject a new contract offer from the Premier League champions and then join them in the summer for free, quite similar to the way they landed Trent Alexander-Arnold this season.

Earlier this month, Reds legend and pundit Jamie Carragher claimed that while he would love to see Konate stay back and continue at Anfield, if he leaves for Madrid next summer, the Merseyside club won't miss the centre-back much. 

Carragher told the Daily Mail: "I’d like him [Konate] to stay but if he doesn’t stay, Liverpool will sign someone else. Liverpool won’t fall apart if Konate leaves. He's not Virgil van Dijk. He's a good centre-back who you hope will sign, but if he doesn’t want to sign, Liverpool will be absolutely fine. He's a very good centre-back, he's a title winner at Liverpool, he's played in the Champions League final against Real Madrid. He's obviously a quality centre-back. It's not poor management [if he goes for free]. You can't physically make somebody sign a contract. Then it's your decision, do you keep him to the length of his contract or do you sell him?"