France defender Ibrahima Konate said on Wednesday he was battling depression following the deaths of Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota and his father as he continued to fulfill his football duties.
Portuguese forward Jota and his brother Andre Silva died in a car crash last July, while Konate’s father, Hamady, died in January after a long illness.
«There are lows, there are depressions. You can also suffer from depression in football; you don’t have to be ashamed to say that,» Konate told France Inter radio.
«It is true that I have often heard players say that they were suffering from depression and that fans or people from outside did not understand because they were making a lot of money. But that is nonsense and you cannot say that.»
The 27-year-old, who earlier this week confirmed he will leave Liverpool this summer, said Jota’s death had taken a heavy toll on him.
«It devastated me. I had no interest in anything else at that point,» he said.
«You go back to football because you have no choice. We are employees at a club that pays us every month, so we have obligations.»
«We had no choice but to get back on the field and play for him and his family – and for ourselves. There’s no way to get over it, but you learn to live with it.»
At the same time, Konate was dealing with his father’s illness, which left him unsure how to balance personal grief with professional obligations.
«I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know if I should go home and stop playing because the team needed me too,» he said.
“I didn’t know who to talk to about it, so I kept it all to myself.”
He lost his father in January and returned early from compassionate leave to help Liverpool through an injury crisis, but admitted he was not yet feeling fully recovered.
«There was never a moment where I felt like I was recovering. All these tragic events happened so quickly and as soon as I felt like I was getting my head above water, something else happened,» he said.
Konate, who has 27 caps for France, is part of Didier Deschamps’ 26-man squad for the World Cup.
Published on June 4, 2026
