Liverpool supporters have grown suspicious that Ibrahima Konate never had any intention of signing a new contract with the club after he immediately agreed a deal to join Real Madrid.
The Frenchman will become a free agent once his contract with the Reds expires on June 30th, a slightly surprise move considering he declared himself ‘close’ to penning a new agreement in April.
Despite Konate‘s confidence, Liverpool seemingly had a different view, and as journalist James Pearce has revealed, that was with good reason. According to the journalist, Konate was looking for around £300k per week to stay with the Reds.
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Konate wanted £300k per week to stay
It should perhaps not have been a surprise to see Konate agree a deal so soon after leaving Liverpool despite reportedly being in negotiations with the Reds for more than two years.
Real Madrid came out to deny their interest in the France international back in January, which seemed like a bizarre thing to do at the time. Now, it is clear why they did it. Konate was always going there.
While he may have played the Liverpool supporters for fools, the club themselves were seemingly wiser to his games, refusing to buckle after he continually upped his demands to a reported £300k per week.
“I got told that Konate kept changing his wage demands and that they were sky high and he wanted to be in that top bracket of Liverpool earners,” Pearce told the Walk On podcast.
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“I think he was on about 140 grand a week. I think it’s fair to assume he wanted that doubled. You’re talking probably 300 grand a week.
“Now, should Liverpool be giving him that money? I don’t think so, not after the season he’s had.”
Given all the work Liverpool already needed to do in the transfer market this summer, they could have done without buying another experienced defender to replace Konate.
Nevertheless, for as poor as the 27-year-old was at times last season, there is no way they could justify paying him that kind of money, likely as he moved into his 30s.
Either way, seems probable that Konate would not have joined even if Liverpool had met his ridiculous demands. He was always set on Real Madrid.
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