“I know you want me,” chuckled Ibrahima Konate as he walked past reporters in the Anfield mixed zone following last Sunday’s final game of the season against Brentford. The France international did not break stride and questions over his future remained unanswered.Five days on and, belatedly, there was clarity. Konate is set to leave Liverpool when his contract expires at the end of June.The 27-year-old centre-back will become the third member of the 2024-25 season’s Premier League title-winning team to depart as a free agent this summer following the emotional farewells to Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson.Liverpool wanted to keep Konate and there’s a sense of disappointment among senior club figures that an agreement over a new deal could not be reached. However, the gap between the financial package the player wanted and what Liverpool were prepared to offer proved unbridgeable. He earns around £150,000 ($202,000) per week and was seeking a significant increase that would have brought him into line with some of the club’s higher earners.Konate leaves having made 183 appearances across five seasons since arriving from Bundesliga team RB Leipzig for £36million ($48.5m) in the summer of 2021. His double act with captain Virgil van Dijk was pivotal to the 2024-25 title triumph, and he also helped Liverpool win two League Cups and the FA Cup during his time at Anfield.It has been a strange contract saga with the waters muddied by the downturn in Konate’s form this season. Unlike the situation with Van Dijk and Salah a year earlier, there was little clamour from supporters for Liverpool to ensure he was tied down.His erratic performances in the first half of the campaign contributed to the defensive vulnerability of Arne Slot’s malfunctioning side. “A bit too much at the crime scene,” was Slot’s verdict on Konate after his errors had helped Leeds United salvage a point in a chaotic 3-3 draw at Elland Road in December.Ibrahima Konate, Alisson and Virgil van Dijk are crestfallen after conceding Leeds’ late third goal at Elland Road (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)Konate also had to deal with the death of his father, Hamady, in the new year and he returned from compassionate leave earlier than expected to help the team amid an injury crisis. The tears flowed when he was embraced by team-mates after scoring late on against Newcastle United in front of the Kop. It turned out to be his seventh and final goal for the club.His performances improved and he ended up starting 36 out of 38 Premier League matches this season. Less that six weeks ago, Konate told reporters after the Merseyside derby victory over Everton that he was on the brink of signing a new contract.