Konate chose the Ballon d’Or for being an “incredible” Liverpool teammate
Ibrahima Konate says he is inspired to win trophies for the ‘incredible’ Mohamed Salah and tipped his Liverpool teammate to win the Ballon d’Or.
The 32-year-old Egyptian striker is currently enjoying the best season of his illustrious career, scoring 21 goals and 17 assists in 29 appearances for the Premier League title chasers.
Salah has never finished higher than fifth in the Ballon d’Or standings and Konate is determined to help Liverpool win as many trophies as possible to ensure he finally wins the award.
“Everything he’s done since the start of the season, even since he played for Liverpool – it’s crazy what he’s done,” said defender Konate.
“I really hope we achieve big things this season because if he keeps going like this I think he can win the Ballon d’Or at the end of the season.
“He will never say that because I think his aim is simply to achieve great success with Liverpool. He doesn’t really think about himself: “Okay, I want to score more goals, I want to have more assists” – he just wants to win the game.
“He just wants to share his experiences with the new players, the young players. And for me to be such a player at his age and to be so professional is incredible.”
Konate on Van Dijk: “What a defender”
Konate also praised centre-back and Reds captain Virgil van Dijk, admitting he was unsure of the Dutch defender’s abilities before his arrival at Anfield.
“What a defender,” he smiles again. “When I was in Leipzig and saw some of Liverpool’s games, I didn’t realize how good he was.
“And when I came here, sometimes I just thought: No, how is this possible? He’s too good. When I came here, he gave me a lot of advice and helped me adapt.
“I need him on the pitch now, I think it’s the same with him as it is with me. We just work together and try to be the best partnership in the world.
“Some strikers see Virgil and say, ‘Okay, I don’t have a chance against him now.’ They don’t give 100 percent.”
Slot against Klopp
The duo’s defensive chemistry has improved to another level since coach Arne Slot took over from Jürgen Klopp on Merseyside, with only Arsenal bettering the Reds’ defensive record this season.
Konate believes Slot has brought a new level of control and explained the differences between how the backline operates this term and the years under his German predecessor.
He added: “(Trent Alexander-Arnold) helps us a lot when we attack, which leaves me a lot of space to defend. But the way the manager explained to us that we should all defend together helped me and the team a lot.
“If you look at last season or the season before and compare it with them, we were more exposed. But now, when we lose the ball, everyone tries to help the team and I think we are more together.
“Nobody expected the manager to do what he has done since the start of the season. He has a great idea of
