26-year-old Ibrahima Konaté, started this season with less than a year left on his contract. It was no secret that Real Madrid have the French international on their latest lists. It is crystal clear that his head has turned.
Konaté has undoubtedly been Liverpool’s worst player this season and was guilty once again of Liverpool’s latest humiliation in the Premier League. While the Reds led by two goals and controlled the game against Leeds United, Konaté unnecessarily awarded a penalty when he dived in on Wilfried Gnonto.
Liverpool 3 – Leeds 3
From the moment Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored the penalty, Liverpool collapsed, and not even a late lead goal from Dominik Szoboszlai could secure all three points, as their vulnerabilities on set pieces were exposed late into injury time.
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Why Konaté chose to go to the ground, only he himself knows. But what is clear is that prominent journalists who specialise in covering Liverpool have had enough of the club’s “blunder”.
When Daily Mail’s Merseyside correspondent Lewis Steele commented on the match live: “What on earth is Ibrahima Konaté doing there?”
He quickly added: “Liverpool were in full control of this game and Ibrahima Konaté has just made a negligent tackle that gives Leeds, who have barely been in Liverpool’s half since half-time, a chance to get a draw. Elland Road is suddenly in full swing.”
The Athletic’s James Pearce described Konaté as “brain dead” before adding: “Players in the final year of their contract tend to raise their game to secure the best possible deal either at their current club or elsewhere. Konaté has broken down. Leeds looked beaten at 2-0, Gnonto rolled the ball out of bounds, he just needed to stay on his feet.”
Josh Williams – known for his in-depth tactical analysis and contributing to LFCTV, TheAnfieldWrap and RedMenTV – wrote on X: “Still haven’t digested Konaté. So much harder to win when one of your centre-backs keeps setting the house on fire.”
The Athletic’s Gregg Evans wrote in his match review of the draw at Elland Road: “Liverpool will wonder how they managed to let the advantage slip away at Elland Road, but the answer was obvious. It was Ibrahima Konaté who awarded the penalty that triggered Leeds’ run-up, when Liverpool were leading 2-0 and seemed to be in complete control.”
“Konaté unnecessarily fed Wilfried Gnonto, who appeared to lose the ball before the Liverpool centre-back slid into his legs and took him down just inside the pitch.”
“Konaté is a shadow of his old self this season and every mistake seems to be punished. He hung his head when the decision was made and was also part of the problem for the third goal when Liverpool conceded from another corner, after it looked like Dominik Szoboszlai had saved them from shame.”
“Defensive blunders have been a recurring theme this season for the champions, with Konaté being the team’s most inconsistent player.”
“It’s surprising that Slot has continued to play him alongside captain Virgil van Dijk for so long, while his form has been very poor, and if the under-par performances continue, he’ll be lucky to stay in the team.”
When asked about Konaté’s poor form after the game, Slot replied: “Unfortunately for him, he does a lot of things well, but he has been a little too much on the scene. Today it was a tackle that came from effort, he tried everything to block the cross.”
Slot must take the blame for Konaté’s collapse
Konaté rightly gets most of the criticism, but one person who should not be overlooked in all of this is the manager. Konaté has struggled very badly throughout the season, yet Slot continues to send the faltering Frenchman on the pitch, week in and week out.
Joe Gomez – who let’s not forget is a centre-back by experience – has to wonder what it will take to finally get a starting spot in place of Konaté. Federico Chiesa probably thinks the same about Cody Gakpo.
Ironically, Konaté’s horrific performances this season seem to have played a big part in Real Madrid cancelling plans to sign the defender even though he arrives on a free transfer.
Real Madrid informed Liverpool directly a week ago that they will NOT pursue Konaté in 2026. However, Liverpool want Konaté to stay and have put proposals on the table. Negotiations are ongoing between the Reds and the defender.
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It is conceivable that a new deal will turn Konaté’s head back into place.
