Liverpool's Ibrahima Konaté opens up on France teammate and Arsenal counterpart William Saliba: "He's a friend and like a brother to me."

11/10/2024 04:28 PM

France international centre-back Ibrahima Konaté (25) gave a wide-ranging interview to Canal+on Sunday. The in-form Liverpool centre-back will report this Monday at France’s Clairefontaine camp for Les Bleus‘ two Nations League games against Israel and Italy. Konaté spoke at length of his disappointment of not playing a single minute in the Euros with Didier Deschamps favoring Dayot Upamecano and William Saliba. France eventually lost to tournament winners Spain in the semi-finals.

According to Konaté, Saliba deserved to play such a prominent role in France’s run into the semi-finals. “The tough part was to start regularly and not to play in a major tournament for which we prepared. From a private and personal standpoint, it was tough. But now, William Saliba is a friend and like a brother to me.” The Liverpool centre-back recalls giving pep talks to his Arsenal counterpart before the games. “I told him it was his moment, and that he had to seize it. Given his performances with Arsenal, he deserved it too. I was happy for him.”

Konaté has told Canal+ he knew the reasons why he lost his place in France’s back four to Saliba. “I hadn’t played in recent months and I lacked rhythm, you could feel it in training. The coach told me that today, there are better players than me in this position. It was a big lesson for me. Nothing is ever taken for granted in life.”

GFFN | Bastien Cheval