Arsene Wenger revealed the Real Madrid transfer blueprint in May 2025 after Trent Alexander-Arnold ran his contract down before signing with the Spaniards. Ibrahima Konate has seemingly just done the same thing.
They did it with Trent Alexander-Arnold and they’ve now done it again with Konate.
In his social media statement addressing Liverpool fans, Konate said: “I am deeply saddened that I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to all of you at the last game. At that moment, I didn’t know it would be my last game. I didn’t know it would be my final teime wearing this shirt in front of you.”
?? @LFC pic.twitter.com/5c4ZPtEMqF
— Ibrahima Konate (@IbrahimaKonate_) May 31, 2026
Konate was reportedly in talks with Liverpool for over a year and a half and couldn’t find an agreement, but days after announcing he’s leaving, Madrid reportedly reached a verbal agreement with him. Whether or not he was aware of where his future was heading is irrelevant.
Liverpool are regularly allowing top players to leave for free and ultimately this is FSG’s fault.
Arsene Wenger exposed the Real Madrid transfer blueprint in 2025
Arsene Wenger said this to beIN Sports in May 2025: “I believe that it [Trent transfer] shows the trend of transfers now, and it shows a new trend in the game.
“There is no transfer anymore for the big, big players. They go all at the end of their contract because the wages are so high that [if] you want to buy Marcel [Desailly] today you have to give him so much money that you cannot pay the transfer anymore.
“So what do the big clubs do? They say two years before the end of a contract we want to buy you, we give you these wages and we will try to make an offer to the club.
“If it doesn’t work, we come back next year and if it doesn’t work then, we will take you for free. That is what they [Real Madrid ] did with [Kylian] Mbappe as well.”
Liverpool need to start treating contract renewals with more aggression
Negotiating contract renewals is a delicate balance. On one hand, you want to keep the player you are negotiating with happy. On the other hand, the players need to understand that the club comes first.
Liverpool cannot allow any more top players to leave for free. It means less money to work with in the transfer market, but it’s also reinforcing the idea that players can use Anfield as a stepping stone for the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich.
