JAKARTA – Former Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate has spoken of the struggles he faced in a year of personal tragedy, in which the death of teammate Diogo Jota was followed by the death of his father.
The French player’s performance was affected, but it was only in January 2026, when his father, Hamady, died after a long illness, that the personal turmoil experienced by the 27-year-old became clear.
“There are low points, there are depressions. You can also suffer from depression in the football world, there is no need to be ashamed to say it.”
“It’s true that I often hear players say they suffer from depression and that supporters or people outside don’t understand because they make a lot of money. However, it’s nonsense and you shouldn’t say that.”
“Depression is personal, it’s deep inside you. When you are depressed, it starts from the heart, goes to the brain and takes over your whole body.”
“For me, that’s what’s difficult, and we need to talk about it,” he told France Inter radio.
Regarding the accident that killed his teammate, Jota, and his brother, Andre Silva, the night before the pre-season training, Konate – who has been linked with a move to Real Madrid after his contract with Liverpool expires – admitted to being devastated.
“It destroyed me. I wasn’t interested in anything else at the time. You go back to football because you have no choice.”
“We are employees at the club who pay us every month, so we have an obligation. We have no choice but to go back on the field and play for him and his family, and for ourselves.”
“There’s no way to forget it, but you learn to live with it,” Konate said.
However, while the entire squad mourns the loss of a much-loved friend, Konate bears the burden of knowing his father is gravely ill.
“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I should go home and stop playing because the team also needs me.”
“I don’t know who to talk to about it. So, I keep it all to myself. This is the advice I would give to everyone, when you feel sad or something happens, you need to talk to the people around you.”
“It could help you and be useful to you. I didn’t talk about it and kept it to myself. The doctor then told us that he wouldn’t live long, but we didn’t know it would happen so quickly,” he said.
While on leave for family reasons, Konate contacted then-head coach Arne Slot to say he would return to help a team suffering from an injury crisis in the backline, scoring in an emotional comeback against Newcastle United at Anfield.
However, the centre-back knew something was wrong.
“There was never a moment where I felt I was in the process of recovery. All these tragic events happened so quickly. As soon as I felt I could get up a little, something else happened.”
“I have the support of all the fans, who are amazing at Liverpool, my teammates, and especially my family.”
“However, I also had to learn how to get back up on my own because the team needs me more than ever and I know that my father would definitely want me back,” he said.
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