Konate Opens Up About Depression Following Tragic Losses of Jota and Father

Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate has disclosed that he struggled with depression during his final season at the club, a period marked by the tragic passing of teammate Diogo Jota and his own father. The 27-year-old French international revealed that the dual personal and professional crises significantly impacted his performance and mental well-being.

The turmoil began in July last year when Jota, a Portuguese forward, and his brother, Andre Silva, were killed in a car accident. Earlier this year, in January, Konate’s father, Hamady, passed away following a prolonged illness. These events coincided with what proved to be a challenging campaign for Konate at Anfield, where his form appeared visibly diminished.

Speaking to France Inter radio, Konate emphasized the need to destigmatize mental health issues in sports. "There are low points, there's depression. You can suffer from depression in football too; there's no need to be ashamed to say so," he stated. He pushed back against the common misconception that financial security protects athletes from such struggles. "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."

Konate described the condition as an all-encompassing experience. "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."

As Konate prepares to join Real Madrid this summer, he reflected on the profound impact of losing Jota, with whom he had shared a neighborhood in Merseyside. "It devastated me. I didn't have any interest in anything else at that point," he admitted. He explained that returning to the pitch was driven by professional obligation rather than personal desire. "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."

Compounding his grief was the knowledge that his father was critically ill. Konate described feeling paralyzed by indecision: "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." He confessed to isolating himself during this time, a decision he now regrets. "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."

Although doctors had indicated his father’s time was limited, Konate noted, "we didn't know it would happen so quickly." He returned from compassionate leave early in January to assist Liverpool amid an injury crisis, though he acknowledged that his performance never fully recovered. Over the 2025-26 season, Konate made 51 appearances, starting 49 of them, but failed to replicate the consistency he had shown in his previous four years at the club as Liverpool finished fifth in the Premier League.

Despite the hardships, Konate was selected in Didier Deschamps’ 26-man squad for the World Cup, with France considered among the favorites. Reflecting on his journey, he said, "There was never a moment when I felt like I was on the mend. 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."

He credited his resilience to his support network. "I had the support of all these fans, who are exceptional at Liverpool, my team-mates 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."

For those affected by the issues discussed in this report, support resources are available via the BBC's Action Line.

Source: BBC News Generated at: 2026-06-03 21:36:32 UTC