Image Credits: Imago Images
Ibrahima Konate and the concern around his future at Liverpool has continued to rumble on as we head toward the final stages of the 2026/27 season.
The French centre-back’s deal expires at the end of this season – June 2026 – and after more than 18 months of negotiations, the two parties have still not reached an agreement.
Konate has spent the international break in the United States with the France squad for a pair of World Cup preparation friendlies. Didier Deschamps rotated heavily across both fixtures, using the matches to cast a wide net over his available squad depth ahead of this summer’s tournament on home soil. Konate did not start in France’s second match against Colombia in Maryland on Sunday.
And while in the country, ESPN sat down for an interview with the 26-year-old, where he was asked on the underwhelming Liverpool season thus far:
“We can say many things because we were champions last season. People are going to talk about, okay, we bring in new players. Many things happened for us this season,” he said.
“But what people as well have to understand, and this is my point, like before we won the league last season, we just built a team to win the PL at one moment and this is part of the success. This is the way to success.”
“And now we bring in new players, of course they will not perform straight from the first game. This is what I’ve said to many, I said we just have to be relaxed because this is part of the success. We bring new players, we will adapt, we will try to understand each other and at a point, with time, we will win a trophy.”
However, a key point he raised in his interview is that success will come “this season, or maybe in the future”:
“We will have success and when we win the Premier League or Champions League, people will forget every bad season we had because now we won the league last season. Two years before we played Europa League, but people don’t talk about this any more,” the Frenchman said.
“This is just part of the success and we have to be relaxed because we have amazing fans, we have to stay together, and the success will come for sure. Maybe this season, or maybe in the future…”
The key phrase, of course, is “maybe this season, or maybe in the future.” It is not a goodbye. It is not a confirmation of a new deal either. But for a player who will presumably leave at the end of the season as things stand, talking about the future at Anfield seems strange.
Arne Slot has already confirmed talks are ongoing, and with the season entering its most critical stretch, both club and player know a resolution cannot be kicked down the road much longer.
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