I work hard because I want to be better than Virgil van Dijk one day – Ibrahima Konate

France defender of Malian descent, Ibrahima Konate, has reiterated his admiration for Liverpool teammate Virgil van Dijk.

According to Konate, he works very hard because he wants to be better than the Dutch centre-back one day.

“It’s not only about Virgil, it’s about Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, all of these players and I think I learned a lot from all of them, but yes we know Virgil, how special he is, how good he is, what he has done since few years and for sure he’s so good.

“I take few things from him and I learn a lot and he gave me a lot of advice when I came to the club and like I said to him ‘I just want and I will be better than you one day’ that’s why I work hard. I work very hard everyday to achieve this one day for sure,” Ibrahima Konate said in an interview.

He continued, “It’s crazy how many man of the match I should get this season. Sometimes it’s very good to play with Virgil because he’s a very good player but sometimes and people who watch the game I realize sometime they think it’s only Virgil play, no I play as well and I’ve done a great game as well but no it’s because of Virgil. I’m not jealous but watch the game better say the truth please.”

Konate’s partnership with van Dijk at Liverpool has been a very good one this season. The two defenders have played key roles for the Reds in their charge to win the 2024/25 English Premier League season.