Ibrahima Konate has become the latest Liverpool player to make the now all too familiar move from Anfield to Real Madrid.
The French defender’s contract runs out on June 30th, and Madrid moved quickly to snap him up after months of uncertainty about his future. Liverpool reportedly refused to meet his wage demands, believed to be around £300,000 a week.
Konate now joins an ever-growing list of players who have made the same journey over the years. Some have hit new levels in Spain — others barely made an impact. Here’s a list of every Red who has defected to the Bernabeu.
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Every player to move from Liverpool to Real Madrid
Steve McManaman — 1999, free transfer
McManaman was the first Liverpool player to move directly to Real Madrid, and his exit stung. He was a homegrown talent who left on a free at a time when Liverpool could not afford to lose big names for nothing.
His time in Madrid was a success. He scored in the 2000 Champions League final against Valencia, won two European Cups and two La Liga titles, and became one of the few English players to truly settle in Spain.
Michael Owen — 2004, £8m
Owen had been Liverpool’s golden boy, a Ballon d’Or winner and one of the most feared forwards in Europe. But by 2004, his contract was running down and Madrid took advantage with a cut-price deal.
He did not flop in Spain. Owen scored 16 goals in 45 appearances but struggled for regular starts in a star-studded squad, returning to England with Newcastle after just one season.
Jerzy Dudek — 2007, free transfer
Dudek left Liverpool as a legend after his role in the 2005 Champions League final, but Pepe Reina’s arrival had already pushed him out of the first team.
He joined Madrid as back-up for Iker Casillas and stayed in that role for four years, making only a handful of appearances. While he did not play much, Dudek was respected in the dressing room and finished his career at the Bernabeu.
Alvaro Arbeloa — 2009, £5m
Arbeloa signed for Liverpool in 2007 and became a reliable defender under Rafael Benitez, able to play on either side and trusted in big matches.
Madrid brought him back in 2009, and he went on to make over 200 appearances, winning La Liga and two Champions League titles. A true legend at the Bernabeu.
Xabi Alonso — 2009, £30m
Like Arbeloa, Alonso thrived upon leaving Merseyside for the Spanish capital. That departure still stings for many Liverpool fans. He was central to the 2005 Champions League win and the 2006 FA Cup.
Tension over Liverpool’s pursuit of Gareth Barry had already soured things, and Madrid moved in at the right moment. Alonso became a key player in Spain, winning both La Liga and the Champions League, while Liverpool struggled for years to replace him.
Trent Alexander-Arnold — 2025, free transfer
Alexander-Arnold’s move was the one that truly rocked the city. He was not just a star player, but a local academy graduate and vice-captain who left at the end of his deal.
His Madrid career is still at the very beginning, but the damage to Liverpool was done long before he pulled on a white shirt. Like McManaman before him, losing Trent for nothing felt like a failure in contract management. Though he did seem keen to go in the end.
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Ibrahima Konate — 2026, free transfer
Now Konate is off to Madrid, and this one might be the most frustrating from a business perspective. At 27, experienced and physically imposing, he should have commanded a significant fee.
While Liverpool were right not to meet his wage demands after an inconsistent season, letting it get to this stage is still mismanagement that falls at the feet off Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards. Madrid have picked up another Liverpool stalwart for nothing, and supporters are fed up with seeing it happen.
Some of these moves turned out well, others did not matter much.
The pattern is becoming all too familiar, though. Madrid are seemingly incapable of keeping their paws out of the Liverpool cookie jar.
Now the problem is who exactly will be next. My money’s on a midfielder.
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