Ibrahima Konate breaks silence on losing Liverpool place as he makes 'best defender' claim

Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate has responded to being left out of the Reds team by Jurgen Klopp towards the back end of last season — denying that he was dropped in favor of Jarell Quansah.

The French center-back, who didn't start in his country's Euro 2024 because Arsenal's William Saliba was preferred alongside Dayot Upamecano, picked up an injury just before the March international break. In Liverpool's final 10 matches under Klopp, Konate was left on the bench in seven including each of the final four.

Nevertheless, Konate, who was signed from RB Leipzig in 2021 for a fee of around $46m (£36m/€43m), has insisted that he was not dropped. He says he is still working his way back to full sharpness.

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"Demotion is not the right word," Konate told Le Monde. "There was nothing at stake in Liverpool's last few games. If that had been the case, I would have been in a different mood and I would have discussed it with the coach.

"But I've worked twice as hard on my own, alongside my club training, to be ready for this Euro. Mentally, there's nothing to say. Physically, I'm still lacking a bit of game time in my legs, but I'm not worried."

It remains to be seen whether Konate can break back into the France team while they are in Germany. France will take on the Netherlands tomorrow, with Ronald Koeman's squad containing Liverpool trio Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch.

Konate also explained what he feels his future looks like after having a few injury issues on Merseyside. "By telling myself that a career is short and that now is not the time to waver," Konate said when asked about how he deals with setbacks.

"Sometimes, when I'm lying in bed, I say to myself that if I hadn't been injured, I'd have been really strong, maybe the best central defender today [laughs]. But that's all part of being a footballer. It doesn't stop me from moving forward and, on the contrary, it gives me a mentality of steel on the pitch and in my private life."

Liverpool.com says: Konate has a big summer ahead of him considering Liverpool is likely to sign another center-back and how good Quansah was last year. The competition for places is set to be steep, though his chances should not be written off. At his best, he is brilliant, but there is a concern over his injury history.