Ibrahima_Konaté
Ibrahima Konaté
French footballer (born 1999)
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.
_15_(cropped).jpg) Konaté playing for Liverpool in 2021 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ibrahima Konaté | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1999-05-25) 25 May 1999 (age 24) | ||||||||||||||||
| 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 | 50 | (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 | 14 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:59, 14 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:58, 26 March 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
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.
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] Outside of football, Konaté is a fan of anime and manga, with Attack on Titan being his favourite series.[8]
Early career
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 made his professional debut for Sochaux in a 1–0 Ligue 2 loss to Auxerre on 7 February 2017, at the age of 16.[11]
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.[12][13][14] Konaté scored his first Leipzig goal in a 4–0 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf.[15]
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.[16] The club had already agreed personal terms with the player in April,[17] and triggered his release clause of approximately £36 million in May 2021.[18] 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.[19] 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.[20] 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."[21]
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.[22]
Konaté missed the beginning of the 2022–23 season through injury.[23]
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.[24][25] He made his full international debut on 10 June in a 1–1 draw against Austria.[26][27] On 9 November, Konaté was included in Didier Deschamps's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he helped France reach the final.[28]
Konaté has been compared to Virgil van Dijk due to his positional play, tackling, pace and strength.[29][30] 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."[31] Konaté is also well known for his passing and strength in the air.[32]
Club
- As of match played 18 April 2024
| Club | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | League cup[lower-alpha 2] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sochaux II | 2016–17[33] | CFA 2 | 9 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||||
| Sochaux | 2016–17[33] | Ligue 2 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||
| RB Leipzig | 2017–18[33] | Bundesliga | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19[33] | Bundesliga | 28 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | 9[lower-alpha 3] | 2 | — | 43 | 3 | |||
| 2019–20[33] | Bundesliga | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21[33] | Bundesliga | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 6[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | — | 21 | 1 | |||
| Total | 66 | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | 21 | 2 | — | 95 | 4 | ||||
| Liverpool | 2021–22[34] | Premier League | 11 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8[lower-alpha 4] | 2 | — | 29 | 3 | |
| 2022–23[35] | Premier League | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |
| 2023–24[36] | Premier League | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 36 | 0 | ||
| Total | 50 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 89 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 137 | 4 | 20 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 39 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 206 | 9 | ||
- Includes Coupe de la Ligue, EFL Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
International
- As of match played 26 March 2024[37]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2022 | 7 | 0 |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 14 | 0 | |
RB Leipzig
Liverpool
- FA Cup: 2021–22[40]
- EFL Cup: 2021–22,[41] 2023–24[42]
- FA Community Shield: 2022[43]
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2021–22[44]
France
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2022[45]
- "Ibrahima Konaté: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- "Ibrahima Konaté: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- "Squad List: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: France (FRA)" (PDF). FIFA. 18 December 2022. p. 12. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- "Ibrahima Konaté: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- "Ibrahima Konaté". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- "Ibrahima Konaté: 'The final in Paris, my home. I couldn't have dreamed it'". The Guardian. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- Touré, Noyine (7 February 2019). "Ibrahima Konaté affole l'Europe".
- 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.
- Julien Laurens (28 May 2021). "Ibrahima Konate's move to Liverpool is just reward for the hard-working French U-21 star". ESPN.
- "Who is Ibrahima Konate?". Bundesliga. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- "RB Leipzig land French talent Ibrahima Konate - bundesliga.com". bundesliga.com - the official Bundesliga website.
- "Who is Ibrahima Konate?". Bundesliga. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- "Fortuna Dusseldorf v RB Leipzig Live Commentary & Result, 27/01/2019, Bundesliga". Goal.com. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- "Liverpool agree deal for Konaté". BBC Sport. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
- "Liverpool seal £36m deal for RB Leipzig defender Ibrahima Konaté". Retrieved 29 May 2021.
- 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.
- "Report: Mane, Salah and Keita goals see off Palace at Anfield". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
- 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.
- Crooks, Garth. "Garth Crooks' team of the week: Alisson, Keita, Mount, Salah, Foden". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
- 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.
- Gorst, Paul (31 July 2022). "Ibrahima Konate injury explained as Keita and Jones absences addressed". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- "Liverpool FC - Ibrahima Konate called up by France". liverpoolfc.com. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- Husband, Ben (4 June 2022). "Konate handed first France call-up as Varane's suffers more injury woe". mirror. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- "Austria 1 France 1". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- "Ibrahima Konate's season keeps getting better with senior debut for France". This Is Anfield. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- Sears, Jack (9 November 2022). "Ibrahima Konate named in France squad for World Cup". This Is Anfield. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- "Who is Ibrahima Konate?". Bundesliga. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- "I. Konaté: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- "Games played by Ibrahima Konate in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- "Games played by Ibrahima Konate in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- "Games played by Ibrahima Konate in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
- "Ibrahima Konaté: Internationals". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
- "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.
- "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.
- McNulty, Phil (14 May 2022). "Chelsea 0–0 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
- McNulty, Phil (27 February 2022). "Chelsea 0–0 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- McNulty, Phil (25 February 2024). "Chelsea 0–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- Hafez, Shamoon (30 July 2022). "Liverpool 3–1 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- McNulty, Phil (28 May 2022). "Liverpool 0–1 Real Madrid". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- McNulty, Phil (18 December 2022). "Argentina 3–3 France". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- Profile at the Liverpool F.C. website
- Ibrahima Konaté at the French Football Federation (in French)
- Ibrahima Konaté – UEFA competition record (archive)
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