Why Real Madrid Could Reignite Ibrahima Konate Chase

The Spanish giants have yet to find an answer to their defensive crisis.

Ibrahima Konaté could fall back onto Real Madrid’s radar. | Liverpool FC/Getty Images

In dire need of a veteran center back this summer, Real Madrid could turn their attention back on Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konaté due to a lack of other options on the market, a report has revealed.

Before the season started, Konaté’s eventual move to the Spanish capital seemed inevitable. Much like his former teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold, the Frenchman, who was continually linked with Los Blancos, did not renew his contract with the Reds and entered the final 12 months of his deal with an uncertain future.

Yet Real Madrid’s once keen interest in Konaté turned nonexistent after his dreadful start to 2025–26, with reports suggesting the Spanish giants fully moved on from the Liverpool star.

Circumstances have changed, though, after the winter transfer window. According to ESPN, Los Blancos are once again monitoring Konaté in their pursuit of a “defender who can be the bedrock of the defense for the next decade.”

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Real Madrid Desperate to Solve Defensive Woes

Antonio Rüdiger is no longer a reliable option for Real Madrid. | Guillermo Martinez/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Over the last season and a half, Real Madrid’s backline has been decimated by injuries. Natural midfielders Federico Valverde, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga have all been converted into emergency defenders to patch up the holes left by Éder Militão, Antonio Rüdiger, David Alaba and Dani Carvajal.

The club thought by signing Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen and Álvaro Carreras last summer they had all the defensive reinforcements they needed, but the former has managed just 16 games this season due to injury. Huijsen, meanwhile, has struggled to perform in his debut campaign.

With Alaba on his way out at the end of the season and Rüdiger potentially following him, Real Madrid are left with only three first-team center backs, and Militão’s injury history combined with Huijsen’s struggles provide little security. The club, therefore, has signing yet another defensive reinforcement atop their priorities.

Except their options are suddenly running thin after taking zero action during the January transfer window, leaving their targets free to get snatched up by other clubs.

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Konaté: A Last-Resort Necessity for the Future

Ibrahima Konaté has yet to ink a new deal with Liverpool. | Shaun Brooks/CameraSport/Getty Images

When Real Madrid turned away from Konaté in November, they did so with three other alternatives in mind:

• Marc Guéhi
• Dayot Upamecano
• Jérémy Jacquet

Los Blancos had their choice between another Premier League star in Guéhi, a battle-tested veteran and soon-to-be free agent in Upamecano or a young, exciting talent in Jacquet. All three were available before the January transfer window opened, and all three are seemingly off the table since it closed.

Manchester City signed Guéhi in a deal worth an initial £20 million (£26.8 million), Jacquet is set to join Liverpool for the 2026–27 season and recent reports out of Germany suggest Upamecano is on the verge of renewing his contract with Bayern Munich.

Suddenly, Real Madrid must go back to the drawing board and potentially open their already closed door for Konaté. Not only would the 26-year-old fit in with the team’s large French contingent and reunite with Alexander-Arnold, but he would also elevate its woeful backline, even on his worst day.

He might no longer be Los Blancos’ ideal candidate given his struggles this season—Liverpool boss Arne Slot called out the defender for being “at the crime scene” far too often—but he comes for free, and he comes with experience, brute physicality and supremacy in the air. If Konaté can put together a strong second half to 2025–26, his move to the Bernabéu could very well be back on.

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