Real Madrid are in need of a squad overhaul in two key areas of the team, as new manager Jose Mourinho will need a better base of players to control the midfield and at least three new signings to bolster the depth and quality of a defense that was ripe for the picking by the top teams last season (and the season before that...and even the season before that, if you asked Carlo Ancelotti).
Mourinho is perhaps only days away from being confirmed as the new Real Madrid manager with a long term contract, and while he seems to have dreams of Inter Milan superstar Alessandro Bastoni to lead his defense alongside a, hopefully, healthy Eder Militao of FC Porto fame, there is another big name ripe for the taking in central defense.
Liverpool star Ibrahima Konate will officially hit free agency after a difficult 2025/26 season for both him and a Reds side that barely reached the Champions League again, and Konate has been a long time target of Real Madrid, who signed Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool just last summer.
Real Madrid love their Liverpool defenders
While Konate is not as big of a name as Alexander-Arnold, the best version of the Frenchman would be just as impactful to a defense begging for a world class center back. Though, in fairnes, Konate was not quite world class last season, which may have been why Real Madrid cooled their interest in the 27 year old.
Yet Fabrizio Romano is reporting that the real reason why Real Madrid "left talks" for Ibrahima Konate around Christmas time during the season was actually out of respect for Liverpool. They could potentially be back in for the French center back now.
It seems like Real Madrid saw Konate and Liverpool were in active talks and that the Reds were in a difficult period. Rather than upsetting the balance with a big club they want to buy players from in the future and not ruffle feathers by poaching a player or being accused of poaching players, they backed off and let the situation play out for itself, perhaps reasoning that if it has been that long since the two reached an agreement, they would likely never close a deal anyway.
Well, that situation has materialized, and now Konate is available as a free agent this summer. Real Madrid will still keep him on their radar, but rumors out of Spain are that they will only sign him if the dollars and cents add up.
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