Football Presse

Liverpool contracts tabled as they release Salah, Robertson, Konaté and eight academy players

·By Junior Yekini
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Liverpool contracts tabled as they release Salah, Robertson, Konaté and eight academy players

Liverpool/X.com

Liverpool have published their retained and released list for the 2026-27 season, confirming the departure of Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Ibrahima Konaté and Rhys Williams alongside eight academy players.

The exits of Salah, Robertson, Konaté and Williams had already been announced separately over recent weeks, with all four out of contract at the end of June. Their departures mark the end of an era for a squad that won the Premier League title last season under outgoing manager Arne Slot.

Salah departs after nine years at Anfield, having scored 257 goals in 442 appearances across all competitions. Robertson, the club's long-serving left-back and captain, leaves after eight seasons. Konaté, 27, joins Real Madrid on a free transfer having declined a contract renewal.

The eight academy players also released are Kareem Ahmed, Emmanuel Airoboma, James Balagizi, DJ Bernard, Oakley Cannonier, Josh Davidson, Terence Miles and Jacob Poytress.

Cannonier, 22, departs having become part of Liverpool's folklore through an unlikely route — as a ballboy during the club's famous 4-0 Champions League semi-final victory over FC Barcelona in May 2019. It was Cannonier who quickly returned the ball to Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose rapid corner caught the Catalans off guard and allowed Divock Origi to score the decisive fourth goal that put Liverpool on course for the European Cup final and their sixth continental title.

Origi himself announced his retirement from professional football this week.

Liverpool have extended contract offers to a further eight development players: Prince Cisse, Keyrol Figueroa, Kyle Kelly, Afolami Onanuga, Oliver O'Connor, Lucas Pitt, Ben Trueman and Matthew Wright.

A club statement read: "Everybody at the club would like to thank the players for all their contributions and wish each of them the best for the future."

The summer represents the most significant personnel change at Anfield since the end of the Jürgen Klopp era. Incoming manager Andoni Iraola, confirmed as Slot's successor, inherits a squad stripped of several of its most experienced figures.

The rebuilding of one of English football's most successful sides in recent memory begins now.