Ibrahima Konate wants his salary to reflect what he believes to be his standing as one of the Premier League‘s best defenders in order to sign a new contract at the club.
The French center-back has established himself as Virgil van Dijk’s first-choice partner this season, forging a strong partnership with the Liverpool skipper which helped the team to win the Premier League. However, his contract situation at Anfield has become a concern, as he is set to become a free agent in just over 12 months’ time.
After spending much of this season working on new deals for Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold — with varying levels of success — it looks as though the club could find itself in a similar situation with Konate next term.
With Alexander-Arnold set to leave Liverpool on a free transfer in the summer, the Reds are obviously keen to avoid a repeat situation with Konate, who is one of the most valuable center-backs in world soccer.
Konate believes he has established himself as one of the Premier League’s best center-backs, and wants a salary that shows that, but Liverpool must cut its cloth accordingly after committing a significant amount of money to the contract renewals of Salah and Van Dijk.
Konate is still on the £80,000 ($106,000) a week salary that he signed upon joining Liverpool in 2021, and it is widely reported that he is demanding £200,000 ($265,000) a week in order to pen a renewal.
(Image: Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
The French center-back is in a strong situation as he knows there be no shortage of suitors willing to pick him up on a free transfer and meet his salary demands, while he could also bag himself a chunky signing-on fee — just as Alexander-Arnold is set to do at Real Madrid.
Madrid has made a habit of signing top players on free transfers, with Alexander-Arnold just the latest player to run his contract down before agreeing to move to the Bernabeu. Kylian Mbappe, Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba have all done the same thing over the last five years.
The Spanish giant has been linked with Konate too as it looks to lock down the center of its defense for years to come, with William Saliba, whose Arsenal contract is due to expire in 2027, also being targeted.
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Another option for Konate could be to join Paris Saint-Germain; Konate has made no secret of the fact he supported PSG growing up.
And the French club could soon be looking for a long-term successor to Brazilian stalwart Marquinhos, who turns 31 next week. Marquinhos has been linked with a summer move to the Saudi Pro League.
