Ibrahima Konate says he is inspired to win trophies for the “incredible” Mohamed Salah and has tipped his Liverpool team-mate to win the Ballon d’Or.
The Egyptian striker, 32, 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 previously 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 they eventually win the award.
“What he’s done since the start of the season, even since he played at Liverpool – it’s crazy what he’s done,” defender Konate said.
“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 will never say that because I think his aim is just to win big things with Liverpool. He doesn’t really think of himself like ‘ok, 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 experience with the new players, the new players. And for me, it’s incredible to be a player like that at his age and be so professional like that.”
Konate on Van Dijk: “What a defender”
Konate also praised fellow centre-back and Reds captain Virgil van Dijk, admitting he was unaware of the Dutch defender’s ability before arriving at Anfield.
“What a defender,” he smiles 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 that possible? He is very good. When I first came here, he gave me a lot of advice and helped me adjust.
“On the pitch now, how much I need him, I think the same goes for him and me. We just collaborate and try to be the best collaboration in the world.
“Some strikers look at Virgil and say ‘ok, now I have no chance against him’. They don’t give 100 percent.”
Slot vs. Klopp
The duo’s defensive chemistry has gone up another level since manager Arne Slot succeeded Jurgen Klopp on Merseyside, with only Arsenal bettering the Reds’ defensive record this season.
Konate believes the slot has brought a new level of scrutiny and explained the differences between how the backline has operated this term compared to the years under his German predecessor.
He added: “(Trent Alexander-Arnold) helps a lot when we attack, which leaves me a lot of space to defend. But how the coach explained to us to all defend together helped me and the team a lot.
“If you can look and compare to last season or the season before, we were more exposed. 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 has done since the beginning of the season. He has a great idea to play, he knows what he has to do and it’s not about adapting to the other team. I think that makes a lot of difference for us compared to Jurgen.”
