Ibrahima Konate has told Virgil van Dijk he wants to eclipse the Dutchman’s impact at Liverpool – but admits pantomime villain Sergio Ramos was his role model when growing up.
Konate has forged a burgeoning reputation since moving from RB Leipzig to Anfield in the summer of 2021 in a £36million deal, helping the Reds win the League Cup and FA Cup while also starting the Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.
The 24-year-old has featured regularly at centre-back alongside skipper Van Dijk, who was a mainstay in the Liverpool side under Jurgen Klopp that was crowned champions of England, Europe and the world.
And Konate, who is hoping to go up against Van Dijk when France take on Holland in their Euro 2024 qualifier on Friday, is eager to surpass his club-mate.
“Very few defenders have managed to do what he did, he is a very great defender with whom I am learning a lot,” he said.
“Now my goal, and he knows it, is to become better than him. (Sergio) Ramos, who I followed a lot, was my number one role model.”
Ramos upset Liverpool supporters when his foul on Mohamed Salah early on in the Reds’ Champions League loss to Real Madrid in 2018 forced the talismanic forward off with a shoulder injury that affected his subsequent World Cup outings for Egypt.
However, Konate has no immediate plans to follow Ramos in joining Paris Saint-Germain, who have previously been linked with an interest in the Liverpool centre-back.
“No, I won’t answer what they are doing (to convince him to join PSG),” said Konate in a press conference on Wednesday. “I’m a Parisian, but I’m in Liverpool.”
