Ibrahima Konate has just made a potentially controversial admission with Liverpool fans.
The centre-back has been a huge hit at Anfield since arriving in 2021. While he’s grown into once of the finest defenders in Europe on the pitch, his personality off it has won him legions of fans.
But in quotes from French journalist Fabrice Hawkins on Twitter today, Ibou may be about to undo some of that good work. Asked about teammate Virgil van Dijk ahead of France’s game with the Netherlands tomorrow, Konate revealed that Liverpool nemesis Sergio Ramos is his ultimate role model.
“Very few defenders have managed to do what he [Van Dijk] did,” says the 24-year-old. “He is a very great defender with whom I learn a lot. Now my goal, and he knows it, is to become better than him.
“Sergio Ramos, whom I followed a lot, was my number 1 role model.”
Come on, Ibou!
Konate makes Ramos admission
We’re only joking of course, Ramos is a fine defender and is a good player for Konate to base his game off.
If he becomes anything like as influential as the Spanish legend, then he’ll have done very well indeed.
But aside from his legacy of being one of the greatest defenders of a generation, Ramos also goes down as one of the most unpopular figures at Anfield of the past however many years.
His judo-esque challenge on Mohamed Salah in the 2018 Champions League final still rankles with Liverpool fans.
It was a bad tackle at the time – at worst deliberately designed to take Salah out of the game – and has only become more frustrating over time.
With Liverpool on top in the game at the time, taking the Reds best player out in such a way essentially ended the match as a contest. For pure infamy, it’ll be difficult for an opposition player ever to top it in the eyes of Liverpool fans.
So, maybe just retrace your steps a little, Ibou. You’re already playing next to a better defender than Ramos ever was, pick him as your role model instead!
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