LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, July 31, 2022: Liverpool's Ibrahima Konaté during a pre-season friendly match between Liverpool FC and RC Strasbourg Alsace at Anfield. Strasbourg won 3-0. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

“It’s a club where I could end my career” – Liverpool “way above” Ibrahima Konate’s expectations

At just 23 years of age, Ibrahima Konate says he could see himself ending his career at Liverpool, admitting the size of the club is way above his initial expectations.

The France centre-back joined the club in the summer of 2021, with Liverpool winning both domestic cup competitions and going close to completing an unprecedented quadruple of trophies in his first season.

Konate arrived from RB Leipzig after the Reds triggered his £36 million release clause, and in an interview published in his homeland, he has opened up on his admiration for the club.

He has also revealed how he initially didn’t believe Jurgen Klopp‘s claim that his life would change when he signed for Liverpool.

“Liverpool is an amazing place and a mythical club,” Konate told Onze Mondial.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Monday, October 3, 2022: Liverpool's Ibrahima Konaté during a training session at the AXA Training Centre ahead of the UEFA Champions League Group A matchday 2 game between Liverpool FC and Glasgow Rangers FC. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

“I remember, before I signed, I had the coach on the phone. He said to me: ‘The day you sign for Liverpool, it will not be the same for you, your life will change.

“Wherever you travel in the world, you will see for yourself what I am telling you. In my head I was thinking: ‘OK, fine, it’s an incredible club with a great history, but chill’.

“I travelled, I went to Zanzibar this summer, and I was taking at least 50 photos a day. And then his sentence came back into my head. I thought: ‘This is insane’.

“As a kid, I knew Liverpool was a big club, but I didn’t imagine it like this. It’s way above my expectations in every way.”

Having recently recovered from a knee injury that has kept him sidelined during the early weeks of the season, Konate is likely to return to match action in the coming weeks.

Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate poses with the trophy after the Emirates FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, London. Picture date: Saturday May 14, 2022. (Image: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo)

After an impressive first season, including a standout performance in the Champions League final, many view the Parisian as a player who could go on to become one of the best defender’s in the club’s history.

And Konate looks to have similar aspirations of his own, going on to reveal how he could already see himself finishing his playing career on Merseyside.

“Today I am at Liverpool, and the truth is, I hardly see a superior club.

“When you are here, you have everything: a great club, a great history, always in the running to win the Champions League, the Premier League and all the trophies with magnificent supporters.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, May 29, 2022: Liverpool players celebrate during an open top bus parade around the city after the club won the Cup Double, the FA Cup and the Football League Cup. goalkeeper Adrián San Miguel del Castillo, Kostas Tsimikas, Diogo Jota, Ibrahima Konaté, Luis Díaz, Roberto Firmino, Thiago Alcântara. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

“I’m 23 and it’s a club where I could end my career. This club is among the top three clubs in the world.

“But you also need quality to finish your career here!”

Konate made some similar comments about his shock at the size of the club during pre-season, singing out June’s parade of the city as a particular highlight.

He is clearly a player who is loving every minute of his time at Liverpool, and it refreshing to hear a player speak so openly and emotionally.

Can’t wait to see him back on the pitch!