Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate is one of the best defenders in the Premier League, and his Real Madrid counterpart Antonio Rudiger cannot understand why he is often under the radar.
The France international has lost his spot in the national team to William Saliba, sitting on the bench at the European Championship in the summer, but he remains a key player for Liverpool, and has played in all of their Premier League and Champions League games so far in 2024-25.
However, the 25-year-old is largely underrated, which has left Rudiger baffled.
“I could also mention, like Konate,” the Madrid star said on The Inside Scoop as he named other centre-backs he admires after naming Virgil van Dijk in his top three defenders in the world.
“I like his game a lot. He is doing very well, he is a bit always under the radar. I don’t know why but I rate him very highly.”
Konate is far from the finished article, but he has the potential to become the best centre-back in the world going forward. His game has improved significantly due to playing alongside Van Dijk, but he has still plenty to do if he wants to establish himself as a regular for France.
He has won the FA Cup, two Carabao Cups and the FA Community Shield with Liverpool since his arrival from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2021, and he now has to win major trophies to prove his quality to his doubters.
The Reds have started the new campaign impressively across all competitions, and Konate will be desperate to win the Premier League and Champions League this term.
