Konate opted for the Ballon d’Or for his ‘amazing’ Liverpool team-mate

Ibrahima Konate says he is inspired to win trophies for the “incredible” Mohamed Salah and has tipped his Liverpool team-mate to win the Ballon d’Or.

The Egyptian striker, 32, is currently enjoying the best season of his illustrious career, scoring 21 goals and providing 17 assists in 29 appearances for the Premier League title chasers.

Salah has never finished higher than fifth in the Ballon d’Or standings before and Konate is determined to help Liverpool win as many trophies as possible so he can finally win the award.

“Everything he’s done since the start of the season, even since he played for Liverpool – it’s crazy what he’s done,” defender Konate said.

“I really hope we can achieve great things this season because if he continues like this, I think he can win the Ballon d’Or at the end of the season.

“He will never say that because I think his aim is just to win big things with Liverpool. He doesn’t really think of himself as, ‘okay, I want to score more goals, I want to have more assists’ – he just wants to win the game.

“He just wants to share his experience with new players, young players. And for me it’s amazing to be a player like that at his age and to be so professional.”

Konate on Van Dijk: ‘What a defender’

Konate also praised centre-back partner and Reds captain Virgil van Dijk, admitting he was unaware of the Dutch defender’s ability before arriving at Anfield.

“What a defender,” he smiles again. “When I was in Leipzig and watched some Liverpool games, I didn’t realize how good he was.

“And when I would come here sometimes I would just think, no, how is this possible? He’s too good. When I first came here, he gave me a lot of advice and helped me adapt.

“Now on the field, as much as I need him, I think he is the same with me. We just work together and try to be the best partnership in the world.

“Some strikers see Virgil and say ‘okay, now I have no chance against him’. They don’t give 100 percent.”

Slot against Klopp

The duo’s defensive chemistry has risen to another level since manager Arne Slott succeeded Jurgen Klopp on Merseyside, with only Arsenal bettering the Reds’ defensive record this season.

Konate believes Slot has brought a new level of control and has explained the differences between the way the backline operates this term compared to years under his German predecessor.

He added: “(Trent Alexander-Arnold) helps a lot when we attack which leaves me a lot of space to defend. But the way the manager explained to us that we all defend together helped me and the team a lot.

“If you can see and compare it to last season or the season before, we were more exposed. But now when we lose the ball, everyone tries to help the team and I think we are more together.

“No one expected the manager to do what he has been doing since the beginning of the season. He has a great game idea, he knows what to do and it’s not about adapting to another team. I think this makes a big difference for us compared to Jurgen.”