Ibrahima Konate will not play for France at this summer’s Olympic Games.
Konate’s absence has now been confirmed.
The French FA have announced their 18-man squad for the tournament and have omitted Liverpool’s newest signing.
Instead, they will bring Benoit Badiashile, William Saliba, Malang Sarr and Anthony Caci as their central defensive options.
Olympic football rules state that men’s teams are restricted to playing players under the age of 24, with three exceptions.
As France’s u21 captain, Konate would have been a great option to travel to Tokyo.
However, it appears that Liverpool stepped in to stop it from happening, and the 22-year-old will now get a full pre-season on Merseyside.
Konate Olympic Games absence good for Liverpool
This is great news for Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp likes to take his time introducing new players to his team.
He will have wanted Konate to get a full pre-season under his belt in order to learn the system and get to know his teammates.
The football at the Olympic Games begins on July 22. The gold medal match takes place on August 7.
This means that Konate would have missed the opening Premier League game.
It is little wonder that Liverpool did not want him to go. Missing pre-season would have been bad enough, never mind missing the opening competitive game.
Now, Konate will be 100% ready to go into his first season on Merseyside.
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