Ibrahima Konate has confirmed the death of his father in an emotional post after missing Liverpool’s 3-0 win against Marseille.
Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate has confirmed the death of his father in a heartfelt post on Instagram. Konate, 26, was absent from Liverpool’s 3-0 away win against Marseille in the Champions League midweek after returning to France alone for personal reasons.
Without disclosing the official reason for Konate’s absence from the squad, Liverpool manager Arne Slot only said he was “really sad” when asked about Konate by the media. And Konate has now confirmed that his father, Hamady, has passed away.
On Instagram, Konate shared the sad news and details of the funeral with his 3.2 million followers. He wrote: “Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return. The funeral prayer for our father, Hamady Konaté, will take place on Friday, January 23rd, after the Jumu’ah prayer at 12:45 PM, In Sha Allah.”
Konate confirmed his father’s death in an Instagram post. PHOTO: LIVERPOOL FC/GETTY
The funeral address was provided and the message was signed by “The Konate Family”.
When asked about Konate’s situation two days ago, Liverpool manager Arne Slot said: “No, first of all, because of family reasons, why he’s not here, that’s very sad for him. Secondly, we miss him because I mainly use him and Virgil van Dijk.”
Joe Gomez replaced Konate in Liverpool’s impressive victory against Roberto de Zerbi’s side in the Champions League. There is currently no update on when Konate might return to Liverpool, although it seems highly unlikely he will feature in the Premier League match against Bournemouth this weekend. Konate’s form has improved significantly in recent weeks after inconsistent performances earlier in the season, and Liverpool are now unbeaten in 13 matches across all competitions. A win against Bournemouth would help Liverpool consolidate their position in the Premier League’s top four.