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Ibrahima Konaté

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Ibrahima Konaté
Konaté playing for Liverpool in 2021
Personal information
Full name Ibrahima Konaté[1]
Date of birth (1999-05-25) 25 May 1999 (age 25)[1]
Place of birth Paris, France
Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back[2]
Team information
Current team
 Liverpool
Number 5
Youth career
2009–2014 Paris FC
2014–2017 Sochaux
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 Sochaux II 9 (1)
2017 Sochaux 12 (1)
2017–2021 RB Leipzig 66 (2)
2021– Liverpool 63 (1)
International career‡
2014–2015 France U16 12 (2)
2015–2016 France U17 7 (0)
2017 France U19 1 (0)
2018 France U20 1 (0)
2019–2021 France U21 13 (0)
2022– France 21 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  France
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up 2022 Qatar
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:02, 24 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:44, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Ibrahima Konaté (born 25 May 1999) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Liverpool and the France national team. He is considered one of the best defenders in the world.[3][4][5]

Starting off with Sochaux, Konaté moved to RB Leipzig in 2017. After four years with the club, Liverpool signed him in 2021 for a fee of £36 million. He won the EFL Cup and FA Cup in his first season.

Early and personal life

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Konaté was born in Paris.[3] He grew up on a council estate in the 11th arrondissement of Paris and is the second youngest of eight children born to parents from Mali.[4][6] Konaté is a fan of anime and manga, with Attack on Titan being his favourite series.[7]

Konaté is a practicing Muslim.[8]

Club career

[edit]

Early career

[edit]

Konaté played as a teen for Paris FC youth teams.[9] When he was 14, he left for Sochaux and joined their boarding academy at the age of 15.[10] He started his career as a striker before moving to the defence.[9] Konaté moved to centre-back.

Konaté made his professional debut for Sochaux in a 1–0 Ligue 2 loss to Auxerre on 7 February 2017, at the age of 17.[11]

RB Leipzig

[edit]
Konaté playing for RB Leipzig in 2019

After a successful debut season, with 12 games and 1 goal in half a season, Konaté joined RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga on 12 June 2017 on a five-year contract by free transfer.[12][13][10] Konaté scored his first Leipzig goal in a 4–0 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf.[14]

Liverpool

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On 28 May 2021, Liverpool announced that they had reached an agreement with RB Leipzig to acquire Konaté on 1 July, pending international clearance and a work permit being granted.[5] The club had already agreed personal terms with the player in April,[15] and triggered his release clause of approximately £36 million in May 2021.[16] On 18 September, Konaté made his Premier League debut, starting alongside Virgil van Dijk, and kept a clean sheet in a 3–0 victory against Crystal Palace.[17] He made his second start of the season partnering Virgil van Dijk in the first North-West Derby of the season, in which Liverpool beat Manchester United 5–0. It was the heaviest defeat inflicted on United by Liverpool since 1895 and the heaviest defeat United had suffered without scoring in since 1955.[18] Konaté won plaudits for how he handled star players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford, and featured in Garth Crooks' team of the week, with Crooks saying, "No frills or skills but he does use his power and strength to maximum effect."[19]

On 5 April 2022, Konaté scored his first goal for Liverpool, a header in a 3–1 away win against Benfica in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg.[20]

Konaté missed the beginning of the 2022–23 season through injury.[21] Having not registered a goal since 16 April 2022, Konaté returned to scoring ways on 17 September 2024 with a header in Liverpool's 3–1 away win against Milan in the UEFA Champions League. On 28 September 2024, Konate scored his first Premier League goal in a 2–1 away win against Wolverhampton Wanderers.[22]

International career

[edit]

Konaté received his first call-up to the senior France national team on 4 June 2022 for the UEFA Nations League, replacing Raphaël Varane due to injury.[23][24] He made his full international debut on 10 June in a 1–1 draw against Austria.[25][26] On 9 November, Konaté was included in Didier Deschamps's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he helped France reach the final.[27] On 18 November 2024, he captained his country in the UEFA Nations League game against Italy.[28]

Style of play

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Konaté has been compared to Virgil van Dijk due to his positional play, tackling, pace and strength.[10][29] Guido Schafer said that: "he is tall, fast, good technique and he is a little bit of Virgil van Dijk. He has very high-class potential. He is a great athlete, he has good speed and there are no silly tackles – he is an intelligent player."[29] Konaté is also well known for his passing and strength in the air.[29]

Career statistics

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Club

[edit]
As of match played 27 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sochaux II 2016–17[30] CFA 2 9 1 — — — 9 1
Sochaux 2016–17[30] Ligue 2 12 1 0 0 1 0 — 13 1
RB Leipzig 2017–18[30] Bundesliga 16 0 0 0 — 4[c] 0 20 0
2018–19[30] Bundesliga 28 1 6 0 — 9[c] 2 43 3
2019–20[30] Bundesliga 8 0 1 0 — 2[d] 0 11 0
2020–21[30] Bundesliga 14 1 1 0 — 6[d] 0 21 1
Total 66 2 8 0 — 21 2 95 4
Liverpool 2021–22[31] Premier League 11 0 6 1 4 0 8[d] 2 29 3
2022–23[32] Premier League 18 0 3 0 0 0 3[d] 0 24 0
2023–24[33] Premier League 22 0 3 0 5 0 7[c] 0 37 0
2024–25[34] Premier League 12 1 0 0 1 0 5[d] 1 18 2
Total 63 1 12 1 10 0 23 3 108 5
Career total 150 5 20 1 11 0 44 5 225 11
  1. ^ Includes DFB-Pokal, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes Coupe de la Ligue, EFL Cup
  3. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ a b c d e Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

[edit]
As of match played 17 November 2024[35]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
France 2022 7 0
2023 6 0
2024 8 0
Total 21 0

Honours

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RB Leipzig

Liverpool

France

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ – Squad List: France (FRA)" (PDF). FIFA. 18 December 2022. p. 12. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Ibrahima Konaté: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Ibrahima Konaté". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Ibrahima Konaté: 'The final in Paris, my home. I couldn't have dreamed it'". The Guardian. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Liverpool agree deal for Konaté". BBC Sport. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  6. ^ Touré, Noyine (7 February 2019). "Ibrahima Konaté affole l'Europe".
  7. ^ Northcroft, Jonathan (27 May 2022). "Ibrahima Konaté: I asked Jürgen Klopp, 'If I was your son, what would you advise?". The Times. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Muslim football players in French national team reportedly asked to postpone their fasting". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  9. ^ a b Julien Laurens (28 May 2021). "Ibrahima Konate's move to Liverpool is just reward for the hard-working French U-21 star". ESPN.
  10. ^ a b c "Who is Ibrahima Konate?". Bundesliga. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  11. ^ "LFP.fr - Ligue de Football Professionnel - Domino's Ligue 2 - Saison 2016/2017 - 24ème journée - FC Sochaux-Montbéliard / AJ Auxerre". www.lfp.fr.
  12. ^ "RB Leipzig land French talent Ibrahima Konate - bundesliga.com". bundesliga.com - the official Bundesliga website.
  13. ^ "RasenBallsport Leipzig - Neuzugang-Ibrahima-Konate". redbulls.
  14. ^ "Fortuna Dusseldorf v RB Leipzig Live Commentary & Result, 27/01/2019, Bundesliga". Goal.com. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  15. ^ "Liverpool seal £36m deal for RB Leipzig defender Ibrahima Konaté". Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  16. ^ Reddy, Melissa (28 May 2021). "Ibrahima Konate: Liverpool close to sealing transfer after triggering RB Leipzig defender's release clause". The Independent. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  17. ^ "Report: Mane, Salah and Keita goals see off Palace at Anfield". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  18. ^ Jackson, Jamie (24 October 2021). "Manchester United's Ole Gunnar Solskjær calls 5-0 thrashing 'darkest day'". The Guardian. Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  19. ^ Crooks, Garth. "Garth Crooks' team of the week: Alisson, Keita, Mount, Salah, Foden". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  20. ^ Hunter, Andy (5 April 2022). "Luis Díaz returns to Portugal to haunt Benfica and seal Liverpool's first-leg win". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  21. ^ Gorst, Paul (31 July 2022). "Ibrahima Konate injury explained as Keita and Jones absences addressed". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  22. ^ "'Moment to cherish!' Ibrahima Konate's first Premier League goal gives Liverpool lead". Sky Sports. 28 September 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  23. ^ "Liverpool FC - Ibrahima Konate called up by France". liverpoolfc.com. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  24. ^ Husband, Ben (4 June 2022). "Konate handed first France call-up as Varane's suffers more injury woe". mirror. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  25. ^ "Austria 1 France 1". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  26. ^ "Ibrahima Konate's season keeps getting better with senior debut for France". This Is Anfield. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  27. ^ Sears, Jack (9 November 2022). "Ibrahima Konate named in France squad for World Cup". This Is Anfield. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  28. ^ "Didier Deschamps to initiate crunch France captaincy talks with Kylian Mbappé as Ibrahima Konaté's stock grows". Yahoo Sports. 18 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  29. ^ a b c Alex Young (29 March 2021). "Who is Ibrahima Konaté: Liverpool target is 'the new Virgil van Dijk' but has worrying injury record". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  30. ^ a b c d e f "I. Konaté: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  31. ^ "Games played by Ibrahima Konate in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  32. ^ "Games played by Ibrahima Konate in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  33. ^ "Games played by Ibrahima Konate in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  34. ^ "Games played by Ibrahima Konate in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  35. ^ "Ibrahima Konaté: Internationals". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  36. ^ "DFB-Pokal 2018/19, Finale in Berlin: RB Leipzig 0:3 Bayern München: Aufstellung" [DFB-Pokal 2018/19, Final in Berlin: RB Leipzig 0:3 Bayern Munich: Lineup]. Kicker (in German). Olympia-Verlag. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  37. ^ "DFB-Pokal 2020/21, Finale in Berlin: RB Leipzig 1:4 Borussia Dortmund: Aufstellung" [DFB-Pokal 2020/21, Final in Berlin: RB Leipzig 1:4 Borussia Dortmund: Lineup]. Kicker (in German). Olympia-Verlag. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  38. ^ McNulty, Phil (14 May 2022). "Chelsea 0–0 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  39. ^ McNulty, Phil (27 February 2022). "Chelsea 0–0 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  40. ^ McNulty, Phil (25 February 2024). "Chelsea 0–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  41. ^ Hafez, Shamoon (30 July 2022). "Liverpool 3–1 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  42. ^ McNulty, Phil (28 May 2022). "Liverpool 0–1 Real Madrid". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  43. ^ McNulty, Phil (18 December 2022). "Argentina 3–3 France". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
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