Real Madrid send WRONG message to Ibrahima Konate at pivotal moment

Real Madrid have sent an awful message to Ibrahima Konate at a pivotal moment. Liverpool don't want to lose their centre-back.

It's no secret that Real Madrid have Ibrahima Konate in their sites. The Frenchman is out of contract in the summer and potentially leaving Liverpool for free.

And so the inevitable reports linking him with a move to Madrid have circulated all summer long. Much as they did with Trent Alexander-Arnold before his own move there in May.

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Real Madrid love a free transfer, after all. And Konate does appear to be leaving the door open to a move, rejecting Liverpool's overtures for nearly a year now.

But it looks like Los Blancos are sending an awful message at a pivotal time. Right as Liverpool up their attempts to get a new contract sorted, the noises from Madrid are actually fairly negative.

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Real Madrid and Ibrahima Konate

ESPN make it clear that Real Madrid have not held Konate at the top of their shortlist. Instead, they've wanted to sign William Saliba from Arsenal.

The centre-back was entering the final year of his contract, potentially opening the door for a sale as the Gunners never wanted to lose him for free. However, Saliba is set to sign a new long-term contract with Arsenal.

Konate, then, isn't their first-choice. He's merely a backup option they'll fall back on now that Saliba is off the table. It's very unlike the Alexander-Arnold situation, who was always Real Madrid's main target.

And also unlike Alexander-Arnold, there isn't a unanimous push inside Madrid for Konate. The ESPN report suggests they're not all sold on a move and other targets are on their mind.

It's the wrong message to send Konate as his current club attempt to convince him to stay. Liverpool appear to value him more than Madrid do.

Now, it's entirely possible that Real Madrid are playing games here. They may be sending out messages that they're not that interested in order to lower Konate's potential demands.

Or, thinking positively, this is actually them saving face because they no longer believe he's heading there. That's certainly the one we're holding onto.

It's a story that will naturally dominate Liverpool's transfer stories until it's entirely sorted.

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