Ibrahima Konate says he is inspired to win trophies for “incredible” teammate Mo Salah, hoping the forward can win the Ballon d'Or for the first time.
“Everything he's done since the start of the season, even since he played for Liverpool, it's crazy what he's done,” the Frenchman laughed when asked about Salah's contribution to Liverpool's title challenge.
He is effusive in his praise for the 32-year-old, and why not? Conventional wisdom suggests that Salah should be past his prime and looking at the end of his days at the top of the game.
Instead, he is posting career-best numbers as Erling Haaland's Golden Boot race leader, averaging a goal every 57 minutes.
Much of his contribution speaks for itself, but not his support for his teammates behind closed doors.
That's what motivates Konate to give back, in line with his own personal ambitions, and why he wants to help the forward surpass his previous best Ballon d'Or finish of fifth and lift the trophy next October year.
He said: “I really hope we can achieve great things this season because if he continues like this I think he can win the Ballon d'Or at the end of the season.
“He'll never say that because I think his goal is just to win big things with Liverpool. He doesn't really think about himself like, 'OK, I want to score more goals, I want to have more assists'.” wants to win the game.
“He just wants to share his experiences with the new players, young players. And for me it's incredible to be such a player at his age and to be so professional.”
Konate has been impressed with Salah but knew the heights the striker could reach before joining Anfield from RB Leipzig in 2021. Before his arrival, he was not very aware of the quality of defensive colleague Virgil van Dijk.
After three years of a budding relationship and his maturation into the towering Dutchman's first-choice partner, he believes the duo can rival not only Gabriel and William Saliba as the Premier League's best centre-back, but anyone in the football world .
“What a defender,” he laughs again. “When I was in Leipzig and watched a few Liverpool games, I didn't realize how good he was.
“And when I came here, sometimes I thought: no, how is this possible? He's too good. When I first came here, he gave me a lot of advice and helped me adapt.
“On the pitch I need him now, I think it's the same for him as it is for me. We just work together and try to be the best partnership in the world.”
“Some attackers see Virgil and say: 'Okay, now I have no chance against him'. They don't give 100 percent.”
That chemistry has been helped by the approach Arne Slot has taken at Anfield since succeeding Jürgen Klopp, with the balance the affable manager has achieved being hailed by his predecessor earlier this week as the best in world football.
Konate is not afraid to compare the two and believes the level of control Slot has brought after nine years of 'heavy metal' football under the Klopp dynasty has improved the side. The numbers suggest this; Liverpool have a tighter defense than in three of the last four seasons.
He says: “[Trent Alexander-Arnold] helps a lot when we attack, giving me a lot of space to defend. But the way the manager explained to us that we all have to defend together helped me and the team a lot.
“If you can also see and compare last season or the season before, we were more visible. But now when we lose the ball, everyone tries to help the team and I think we are more together.
“No one expected the manager to do what he has done since the start of the season. He has a great idea of the game, he knows what to do and it is not about adapting to the other team. I think this makes a lot of difference .” for us compared to under Jurgen.”
Comments