Ibrahima Konaté
French footballer (born 1999)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ibrahima Konaté (French pronunciation: [ibʁaimˈa konatˈe]; 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.
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Konaté playing for Liverpool in 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Ibrahima Konaté | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 25 May 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Paris, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | 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 | 118 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | 27 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:13, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21:39, 26 March 2026 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Konaté started off his professional career with Sochaux, and 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, and later won the Premier League title with the club in the 2024–25 season.
After representing them at various youth levels, Konaté made his senior debut for France in 2022 and was a member of the team that reached the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Early and personal life
Ibrahima Konaté[3] was born on 25 May 1999[4] in Paris.[5] He grew up in public housing in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, the second youngest of eight children born to parents from Mali.[6][7] His father, Hamady Konaté, died on 21 January 2026.[8]
He is a fan of anime and manga, his favourite series being Attack on Titan.[9] He is a practising Muslim.[10]
Club career
Early career
Konaté played as a teen for Paris FC youth teams.[11] When he was 14, he left for Sochaux and joined their boarding academy at the age of 15.[12] He started his career as a striker before moving to the defence, becoming a centre-back.[11]
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.[13]
RB Leipzig
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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.[14][15][12] On 27 January 2019, Konaté scored his first Leipzig goal in a 4–0 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf.[16]
Liverpool
On 28 May 2021, Premier League side 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 to him.[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 Liverpool and Premier League debut, starting alongside Virgil van Dijk and keeping 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 Northwest 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 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."[22]
On 5 April 2022, Konaté scored his first goal for Liverpool, a header in a 3–1 away victory against Benfica in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg.[23] He scored again in the second leg at home on 13 April, which ended in a 3–3 draw with his side winning 6–4 on aggregate to progress to the next round.[24] Three days later on 16 April, he scored in a 3–2 FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester City at Wembley Stadium, helping Liverpool advance to the final.[25] Konaté later missed the beginning of the 2022–23 season through injury.[26]
Having not registered a goal since April 2022, Konaté returned to scoring ways on 17 September 2024 with a header in Liverpool's 3–1 away victory over AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League.[27] On 28 September, he scored his first Premier League goal in a 2–1 away win against Wolverhampton Wanderers.[28]
During the 2025–26 season, Konaté's performances have received criticism from the fans and media.[29] On 31 January 2026, after being absent for three games due to the death of his father, Konaté returned to the squad and scored a late goal in a 4–1 win over Newcastle United.[30]
On 20 March 2026, Liverpool released a statement that they are "appalled and disgusted" after racial abuse was targeted towards Konaté on social media.[31]
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.[32][33] He made his full international debut on 10 June in a 1–1 draw against Austria.[34][35] On 9 November, Konaté was included in Didier Deschamps's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he helped France reach the final.[36] On 18 November 2024, he captained his country in a 3–1 UEFA Nations League victory against Italy.[37]
Style of play
Konaté has been compared to Virgil van Dijk due to his positional play, tackling, pace and strength.[12][38] 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."[38] Konaté is also well known for his passing and strength in the air.[38]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 24 May 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sochaux II | 2016–17[39] | CFA 2 | 9 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||||
| Sochaux | 2016–17[39] | Ligue 2 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||
| RB Leipzig | 2017–18[39] | Bundesliga | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[c] | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19[39] | Bundesliga | 28 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | 9[c] | 2 | — | 43 | 3 | |||
| 2019–20[39] | Bundesliga | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21[39] | Bundesliga | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 6[d] | 0 | — | 21 | 1 | |||
| Total | 66 | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | 21 | 2 | — | 95 | 4 | ||||
| Liverpool | 2021–22[40] | Premier League | 11 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8[d] | 2 | — | 29 | 3 | |
| 2022–23[41] | Premier League | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |
| 2023–24[42] | Premier League | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7[c] | 0 | — | 37 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25[43] | Premier League | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7[d] | 1 | — | 42 | 2 | ||
| 2025–26[44] | Premier League | 36 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10[d] | 1 | 1[e] | 0 | 51 | 2 | |
| Total | 118 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 35 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 183 | 7 | ||
| Career total | 205 | 6 | 24 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 56 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 300 | 13 | ||
- Includes Coupe de la Ligue, EFL Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance in FA Community Shield
International
- As of match played 26 March 2026[45]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2022 | 7 | 0 |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 27 | 0 | |
Honours
RB Leipzig
Liverpool
- Premier League: 2024–25[1]
- FA Cup: 2021–22[48]
- EFL Cup: 2021–22,[49] 2023–24;[50] runner-up: 2024–25[51]
- FA Community Shield: 2022[52]
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2021–22[53]
France
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2022[54]
- UEFA Nations League third place: 2024–25[55]
