Article by Alexandru Stanciu – published Tuesday, October 14, 2025 7:48 / Updated Tuesday, October 14, 2025 7:48
Real Madrid and Liverpool face again, this time outside the field, not for European glory, but for a strategic operation that involves patience, contracts on the way to expire and millions in the game.
The two powers of European football seem willing to wait until next summer to materialize their priorities on the transfer market, in a true financial chess game. Real Madrid wants defender Ibrahima Konate, whose understanding with Liverpool expires in the summer, while “cormorants” do not give up the dream of bringing Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace, which is in the same contractual situation as Konate.
Real Madrid and Liverpool are waiting for summer to bring free footballers for free
According to The Athletic, Real Madrid keeps Ibrahima Konate as a priority target to strengthen his defensive axis, while Liverpool continues to follow Marcihi from Crystal Palace.
Both players have contracts that are approaching the end, and both “galactics” and “cormorants” intend to take advantage of this factor to avoid unnecessary expenses in the next winter transfer window.
In the case of Real Madrid, the interest for Konate has intensified since the Frenchman entered the last year of contract with Liverpool. The club led by Florentino Perez sees in the central defender for 26 years a market opportunity similar to the one who brought Antonio Rudiger Free, in 2022.
The plan of the Madrid is to convince Konate not to renew their understanding, to bring them free of contract in 2026. A patience move that Liverpool is trying to counteract with negotiations that until now remain blocked.
On the side of the “Cormorants”, Marc Guehi's name remains at the top of the list. The central defender at Crystal Palace was very close to strengthening Liverpool on the last day of the transfer market, in a business valued at about 40 million euros.
The agreement was almost concluded, the player performed some of the medical exams and a private plane to take him to Liverpool, but Palace's president Steve Parish canceled the transfer at the last moment, due to the lack of a replacement.
Even so, Guehi remains a priority for “cormorants”. The player's contract expires next summer, and Liverpool's management believes he can transfer him for free, if the player does not renew his contract. A strategy that mirrors, curiously, that of Real Madrid.
