Ibrahima Konaté has opened up about the profound struggles he faced during a year marked by personal tragedy, including the death of his former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota and the subsequent loss of his father. The France international, who is reportedly set to join Real Madrid after not renewing his contract with Liverpool, admitted that his form on the pitch suffered as he grappled with grief and depression.
A Year of Loss and Turmoil
Konaté’s father, Hamady, passed away in January after a long illness. The defender revealed that the emotional weight of these events took a heavy toll on his mental health. “There are low points, there’s depression,” said the 27-year-old. “You can suffer from depression in football too; there’s no need to be ashamed to say so.” He emphasized that depression is often misunderstood, especially in the context of professional athletes who are perceived to have everything. “It’s true that I’ve often heard players say they were suffering from depression and that fans or people on the outside didn’t understand because they were earning a lot of money. But no, that’s rubbish and you shouldn’t say that. Depression is personal; it’s deep inside you. When you’re depressed, it starts in the heart, goes up to the brain and takes over your whole body. For me, that’s what’s hard, and we need to talk about it.”
The Impact of Jota’s Death
The tragedy began when Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva were killed in a car crash on the eve of pre-season training. Konaté described the event as devastating. “It devastated me. I didn’t have any interest in anything else at that point,” he said. “You go back to football because you have no choice. We’re employees at a club that pays us every month, so we have duties. We had no choice but to go back on the field and play for him and his family – as well as ourselves. There’s no way of getting over it, but you learn to live with it.”
Carrying the Burden Alone
While mourning Jota, Konaté was also dealing with the knowledge that his father was seriously ill. He admitted to feeling torn between his professional responsibilities and his personal life. “I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know whether I should go home and stop playing, because the team needed me too. I didn’t know who to talk to about it, so I kept it all to myself. And this is the advice I’d give to everyone: when you’re feeling down or something’s going on, you need to talk to those around you. It can help you and do you good. I didn’t talk about it and kept it to myself. The doctors then told us he didn’t have long to live, but we didn’t know it would happen so quickly.”
A Return to the Pitch
After his father’s death, Konaté took compassionate leave but soon returned to help Liverpool during a defensive injury crisis. He called then-head coach Arne Slot to say he was coming back, and he scored an emotional goal against Newcastle at Anfield. However, the centre-back acknowledged that he was far from fully recovered. “There was never a moment when I felt like I was on the mend,” he said. “All of these tragic events happened so quickly and as soon as I felt like I was getting my head above water, something else happened. I had the support of all these fans, who are exceptional at Liverpool, my teammates and especially my family but I also had to learn how to get back on my feet on my own because the team needed me more than ever and I know that my father would have wanted me to get back.”
Konaté’s candid remarks highlight the importance of mental health awareness in sports. He urged others facing similar struggles to seek support. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. You can contact the mental health charity Mind by calling 0300 123 3393 or visiting mind.org.uk.
