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Ibrahima Konate is set to leave Liverpool on a free transfer this summer after two and a half years of contract negotiations came to nothing.
The centre-back will join Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson in leaving Liverpool on a free transfer this summer, with Virgil van Dijk and Alisson currently looking set to join them next summer unless they are sold in the interim.
The same was true of Georginio Wijnaldum, Roberto Firmino, Emre Can, Adam Lallana, James Milner, Naby Keita, Divock Origi, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain before them.
Where will Konate end up next?
A true Bosman was only averted with Trent Alexander-Arnold thanks to Real Madrid stumping €10m to get the deal done early so he could play at the Club World Cup.
That is a lot of value to walk out the door at Anfield without Liverpool getting a return on their investment…but how big a problem that is is a matter of perspective.
Mo Salah having his contract mutually terminated despite having a year left...Trent Alexander-Arnold being sold for just £8.5m, after running down his contract... Ibrahima Konate leaving for free...Andy Robertson leaving for free...They would join Wijnaldum, Firmino,… pic.twitter.com/ld9DvFdZ7rMay 29, 2026
It should be acknowledged that a fair few of those players were in their 30s and had given years of dedicated and decorated service to Liverpool. Others had struggled with injuries before their departures.
That leaves only a handful who left at a decent age to recover a bit of money, the most notable of which are Wijnaldum, Keita, Origi and – if we’re going to count his sale far below market value – Alexander-Arnold.
The degree to which Liverpool actually missed those players is arguable. Wijnaldum’s exit felt very questionable at the time, for instance: he had played in every single one of their Premier League games the previous season.
But the season following his departure saw Liverpool rise from 3rd to run Manchester City extremely close in the Premier League, reach the Champions League final, and win the FA Cup and the League Cup.
The bulk of those departures also came before Liverpool’s Premier League title win of 2024/25, which was followed by an absolutely enormous spending spree last summer.
Whatever you think of the actual signings they made, the sheer amount they spent suggested Liverpool were hardly short of a few bob. That’s hardly surprising, given they were the best-performing English side for revenues in the Deloitte money league that season.
It’s not like Liverpool have not made big-name or big-money sales, either. There are some big names in there – Luis Diaz (€70m), Darwin Nunez (€53m), Fabinho (€46.7m), Sadio Mane (€32m), and Jordan Henderson (€14m).
But the bulk of them are squad players and academy graduates. €35m for Jarell Quansah. €26m for Rhian Brewster. A combined €61.8m for Sepp van den Berg, Caoimhin Kelleher and Fabio Carvalho to Brentford. €23.2m for Benn Gannon-Doak. €20m for Neco Williams. €14m for Harry Wilson. €10m for Tyler Morton. There are more than that, but we don’t have all day.
If we’re being generous, then Liverpool would seem quite happy to let some of their biggest stars run down their contracts and keep playing them until their deals expire, while topping up the coffers by selling players who were never likely to make it into their first team anyway.
Since they signed van Dijk from Southampton for a then eye-watering amount in 2018, Liverpool have tried to carve out a reputation as a side that will spend big on players they think are worth the outlay – but only those players.
From 2020 onwards, Liverpool have only paid transfer fees for 19 players, and that includes Ben Davies from Preston and Marcelo Pitaluga from Fluminese for fees that Championship clubs would happily pay, let alone Premier League clubs.
For better (2024/25) or worse (2025/26), that has given the Reds a much greater degree of stability than some of their financial rivals…and also has a side effect not enjoyed by the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea.
Simply put…Liverpool are not a club known for chucking a load of cash at players just to keep them at the club.
They could have done that with Konate if they had so desired. They could have got Salah and van Dijk sewn up much faster last year. Could they even have kept Alexander-Arnold? Who knows.
But that sets a standard. Move the ceiling up for one player, and everyone else will want their wages raised too. Not just current players, but new signings too.
From their point of view, it may be worthwhile letting the odd Konate, Keita or Wijnaldum – starters, but not megastars – get away from them if it makes clear they will not be a soft touch in contract negotiations. If they make an offer, it's because they want you there, not as a means to securing a fee. Take it or leave it.
That’s the kind version. The more damning version is that, fairly or otherwise, it is beginning to make Liverpool look more shambolic and, in the eyes of many fans, is eroding their previous reputation for savvy transfer dealings.
The Salah and Alexander-Arnold affairs, in particular, have given the club no end of embarrassment and public recrimination.
Liverpool can happily ride that out if they keep getting results, and it's no coincidence that criticism of their transfer policy is coming after a notably poor season - regardless that Konate's performances were hardly up to scratch.
In the end, their judgement will always come on the pitch. Get back to winning trophies, and nobody will care. Continue receding, and the scrutiny will only get louder.
