Ibrahima Konate said he is inspired to win trophies by his “fantastic” teammate Mohamed Salah, hoping the striker can win his first Ballon d'Or.
The Frenchman laughed when asked about Salah’s contribution to Liverpool’s challenge to win the title: “Everything he has done since the beginning of the season, even since he played for Liverpool, what he has done is crazy.”
He's effusive in his praise of the 32-year-old, and why not? According to conventional wisdom, Salah should be past his prime, looking forward to the end of his days at the top of the game.
Instead, he is posting the best numbers of his career to take the lead in the Golden Boot race from Erling Haaland, averaging a goal every 57 minutes.
Many of his contributions speak for themselves, but not his support of his teammates behind closed doors.
This is what motivates Konate to return the favor, in line with his personal ambitions, and why he wants to help the striker surpass his previous best result of a fifth-place Ballon d'Or and lift the trophy next October.
“I really hope we achieve great things this season, because if he continues like this, I think at the end of the season he can win the Ballon d'Or,” he says.
“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, 'Okay, I want to score more goals, I want to get more assists' – he just wants to win the game.”
“He just wants to share his experience with the new players, the young players. And for me, it's incredible to be a player like this at his age and to be a professional in this way.”
Konate is an admirer of Salah, but knew the heights the striker could reach before joining him at Anfield from RB Leipzig in 2021. He was unaware of the quality of fellow defender Virgil van Dijk before his arrival.
After three years of a blossoming relationship and his maturity to become the towering Dutchman's first-choice partner, he feels the duo can not only rival Gabriel and William Saliba as the best centre-back pairing in the Premier League, but anyone in world football.
“What a defender,” he smiles again. “When I was at Leipzig and watched some Liverpool matches, I didn't realize how good he was.
“And when I came here sometimes I thought, ‘No, how is this possible?’ He’s so good. When I first came here, he gave me a lot of advice and helped me adapt.
“On the field now, how much I need him, I think it's the same for me. We work together and try to be the best partnership in the world.”
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Former Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp said he hopes Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk will remain at Liverpool amid contract discussions and will take them to Red Bull.
“Some strikers see Virgil and say: ‘OK, now I have no chance against him.’ They are not giving 100 per cent.”
That chemistry has been enhanced by the approach Arne Slott has taken at Anfield since succeeding Jurgen Klopp, with the balance achieved by the approachable manager whose predecessor described him as the best in world football earlier this week.
Konate is not afraid to compare the two and believes the level of control Slott has brought after nine years of 'heavy metal' football under the Klopp dynasty has improved the team. The numbers indicate this; Liverpool have a stronger defense than they have in three of the past four seasons.
He says: “(Trent Alexander-Arnold) helps me a lot when we attack, which leaves me a lot of space to defend. But how the coach showed us how to defend together helped me a lot and helped the team a lot.”
“If you can see and compare last season or the previous season as well, we were more vulnerable. But now when we lose the ball, everyone tries to help the team and I think we are more together.”
“No one expected the coach to do what he did since the beginning of the season. He has a great idea of the game, he knows what to do, and it's not about adapting to the other team. I think that makes a big difference.” “For us, compared to Jurgen's leadership.”
