Konaté, a Madrid target, almost gave up football this year: “I didn’t know if I should stop playing”

Ibrahima Konaté27 years old, will not play in the Liverpool the next course. The entity of Anfield announced that the French defender had decided not to renew and leave the club as a free agent. He real Madridwith whom the positions are very close – pending what happens in the elections – is his most possible destination.

The central defender, who is preparing the World with the French team, he gave an interview in which he opened up to ‘France Inter’ in which he explained some of the hardest moments of his sporting career. One of them the unexpected loss of Diogo Jotavictim of a traffic accident.

“I remember when I found out, I was in Los Angeles and I couldn’t believe it. It devastated me. At that moment I had no interest in anything else. He was the last person anyone would have chosen to have this happen to. He didn’t care about anything. He just wanted to be happy and have good times with his teammates and his family. He wasn’t interested in fame. Plus, he was my neighbor, so I shared a few more moments with him. It was a very strong thing that happened to all of us.”

A blow that left him very affected, but what made him hit rock bottom came at the beginning of this same 2027 with the loss of his father, whose health was worsening since the start of the season. “My father was in the hospital for several weeks… In my situation, I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know if I should stop playing, because the team also needed me. One day, the doctor told my family that his organs were bad. He was older, so he didn’t have much time to live. But you are never prepared, we didn’t know it was going to happen so quickly,” he stated.

He took advantage of this moment to send an important message, inviting everyone to express their mental health problems. “When you have discomfort, you have to talk about it with those around you. It can help you and make you feel better.”