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Ibrahima Konaté

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Ibrahima Konaté
Konaté playing for Liverpool in 2021
Personal information
Full name Ibrahima Konaté
Date of birth (1999-05-25) 25 May 1999 (age 25)
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 B 9 (1)
2017 Sochaux 12 (1)
2017–2021 RB Leipzig 66 (2)
2021– Liverpool 16 (0)
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 7 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  France
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up 2022 Qatar
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:43, 21 January 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:52, 18 December 2022 (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.

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

Ibrahima Konaté[3] was born on 25 May 1999[4] in Paris.[5] 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.[6][7] He is a Muslim.[8] Outside of football, Konaté is a fan of anime and manga, citing Attack on Titan as his favourite series.[9]

Club career

Early career

Konaté grew up in the 11th arrondissement of Paris and played as a teen for Paris FC youth teams.[10] When he was 14, he left for Sochaux and joined their boarding academy at the age of 15.[11] He started his career as a striker before moving to the defence.[10]

Sochaux

Konaté made his professional debut for Sochaux in a 1–0 Ligue 2 loss to Auxerre on 7 February 2017, at the age of 16.[12]

RB Leipzig

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.[13][14][15] Konaté scored his first Leipzig goal in a 4–0 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf.[16]

Liverpool

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.[17] The club had already agreed personal terms with the player in April,[18] and triggered his release clause of approximately £36 million in May 2021.[19] 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.[20] 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.[21] Konaté won plaudits from fans for how he handled star players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes and also 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. This was shown in match against Manchester United, Mason Greenwood, Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford hardly had a kick."[22]

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.[23]

Konaté missed the beginning of the 2022–23 season through injury.[24]

International career

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.[25][26] He made his full international debut on 10 June in a 1–1 draw against Austria.[27][28] On 9 November, Konaté was included in Didier Deschamps's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he helped France reach the final.[29]

Style of play

Konaté playing for RB Leipzig in 2019

Konaté has been compared to Virgil van Dijk due to his positional play, tackling, pace and strength.[30][31] 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."[32] Konaté is also well known for his passing and strength in the air.[33]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 29 January 2023[34]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sochaux II 2016–17 CFA 2 9 1 — — — 9 1
Sochaux 2016–17 Ligue 2 12 1 0 0 1 0 — 13 1
RB Leipzig 2017–18 Bundesliga 16 0 0 0 — 4[a] 0 20 0
2018–19 Bundesliga 28 1 6 0 — 9[a] 2 43 3
2019–20 Bundesliga 8 0 1 0 — 2[b] 0 11 0
2020–21 Bundesliga 14 1 1 0 — 6[b] 0 21 1
Total 66 2 8 0 — 21 2 95 4
Liverpool 2021–22 Premier League 11 0 6 1 4 0 8[b] 2 29 3
2022–23 Premier League 5 0 3 0 0 0 2[b] 0 10 0
Total 16 0 9 1 4 0 10 2 39 3
Career total 102 4 17 1 5 0 31 4 155 9
  1. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ a b c d Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 18 December 2022[35]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
France 2022 7 0
Total 7 0

Honours

RB Leipzig

Liverpool

France

References

  1. ^ "Ibrahima Konaté: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Ibrahima Konaté: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  3. ^ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™: List of Players: France" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 12. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Ibrahima Konaté: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Ibrahima Konaté". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Ibrahima Konaté: 'The final in Paris, my home. I couldn't have dreamed it'". The Guardian. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  7. ^ Touré, Noyine (7 February 2019). "Ibrahima Konaté affole l'Europe".
  8. ^ Hendrix, Hale (5 April 2020). "Ibrahima Konate Childhood Story Plus Untold Biography Facts". LifeBogger. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "Who is Ibrahima Konate?". Bundesliga. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  12. ^ "LFP.fr - Ligue de Football Professionnel - Domino's Ligue 2 - Saison 2016/2017 - 24ème journée - FC Sochaux-Montbéliard / AJ Auxerre". www.lfp.fr.
  13. ^ "RB Leipzig land French talent Ibrahima Konate - bundesliga.com". bundesliga.com - the official Bundesliga website.
  14. ^ "RasenBallsport Leipzig - Neuzugang-Ibrahima-Konate". redbulls.
  15. ^ "Who is Ibrahima Konate?". Bundesliga. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Fortuna Dusseldorf v RB Leipzig Live Commentary & Result, 27/01/2019, Bundesliga". Goal.com. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  17. ^ "Liverpool agree deal for Konaté". BBC Sport. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Liverpool seal £36m deal for RB Leipzig defender Ibrahima Konaté". Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ "Report: Mane, Salah and Keita goals see off Palace at Anfield". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ Crooks, Garth. "Garth Crooks' team of the week: Alisson, Keita, Mount, Salah, Foden". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ Gorst, Paul (31 July 2022). "Ibrahima Konate injury explained as Keita and Jones absences addressed". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  25. ^ "Liverpool FC - Ibrahima Konate called up by France". www.liverpoolfc.com. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  26. ^ Husband, Ben (4 June 2022). "Konate handed first France call-up as Varane's suffers more injury woe". mirror. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  27. ^ "Austria 1 France 1". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  28. ^ "Ibrahima Konate's season keeps getting better with senior debut for France". This Is Anfield. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  29. ^ Sears, Jack (9 November 2022). "Ibrahima Konate named in France squad for World Cup". This Is Anfield. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  30. ^ "Who is Ibrahima Konate?". Bundesliga. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  31. ^ 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.
  32. ^ 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.
  33. ^ 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.
  34. ^ "I. Konaté". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  35. ^ "Ibrahima Konaté". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  36. ^ "RB Leipzig 0 Bayern Munich 3". BBC Sport. 25 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  37. ^ "RB Leipzig 1 Borussia Dortmund 4". BBC Sport. 13 May 2021. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  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. ^ "Liverpool 3–1 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  41. ^ McNulty, Phil (28 May 2022). "Liverpool 0–1 Real Madrid: Reds beaten in Paris as Vinicius Jr hits winner". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  42. ^ McNulty, Phil (18 December 2022). "Argentina 3–3 France". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
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