Enrique Sanz Barça also wants Konaté and makes a move, surprise breakthrough announced
The saga surrounding Liverpool's center-back has attracted the attention of the European football elite
One of Real Madrid's targets in the upcoming summer transfer windows is Ibrahima Konaté. The Liverpool defender is ranked among the best center-backs in the Premier League, which is yet another reason to try to secure his services. Xabi Alonso wants that signing to happen right now, as we have learned at Defensa Central.
From the Valdebebas offices, however, they would have a very different roadmap from the urgent proposal of the Tolosa coach. Because Liverpool has replied to the pressure created around the French "5" with a deterrent measure: his release price set at €50 million. That figure seems far too high for a footballer who has only one year left on his contract.
The possibility of signing Ibrahima Konaté as a free agent in the summer of 2026 would explain the interest of the Madrid side in the French footballer. So far, Real Madrid has positioned itself as the only and best offeror for the "5" red, but "Caughtoffside" has revealed the existence of two more clubs that are willing to compete.
According to this English podcast about transfer market news, both Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona have entered the discussions with Real Madrid for Ibrahima Konaté. That change of scenario doesn't worry the occupants of the upper echelons of Santiago Bernabéu yet, given that they are all in the same situation regarding the footballer.
The signing gets complicated
The English podcast that reveals the approaches of FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich to sign Ibrahima Konaté as a free agent is very clear. Both clubs understand, as is the case with Real Madrid, that the €50 million ($54.4 million) demanded this summer for the established French center-back is a truly exorbitant amount.
That's why the plans to sign Ibrahima Konaté, which would include two of Madrid's biggest rivals in the European football elite, are shifting toward signing him as a free agent. Madrid's top executives must now operate in that scenario, aware that Bayern Munich can offer much more money in salaries.
It would not be the first time that other clubs, in an identical or very similar situation, end up beating Real Madrid. Bayern Munich already achieved that feat not long ago, in the midst of the discussions about Alphonso Davies. The Madrid offer for the left-footed defender was unbeatable, but from the Säbener Straße offices they gave in to his salary demands.
That's why the Canadian full-back is still part of the Allianz Arena locker room... while Real Madrid took advantage of that refusal to turn to the market and sign Álvaro Carreras. In any case, Madrid's negotiators will not lose sight of the moves of their new rivals in the race to sign Ibrahima Konaté.
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