Former Real Madrid defender Pepe waxed lyrical of Ibrahima Konate, one of the first signings of new head coach Jose Mourinho, with the former Liverpool man arriving on a free transfer this summer.
Konate, 27, is currently with the France national team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, with Les Bleus set to open their campaign against Senegal on June 16 at the New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford.
The French centre-back scored twice in 51 games across competitions in 2025-26, in what turned out to be final season at Anfield. Overall, he appeared nearly 200 times for the Premier League giants, scoring seven times and assisting four, and winning five titles.
Pepe - who played for Los Blancos between 2007 and 2017 - hopes that Konate's arrival would lead to winning titles again after the Madrid side endured two successive seasons without major silverware.
"I like Ibrahima Konate," Pepe said (as per Madrid Universal). "I hope he is better than me. It would be a sign that things are going well in Madrid and that we’re winning trophies, that’s what I want."
Konate's national team captain and Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe hailed his compatriot (as per Yahoo):
“He’s a very aggressive defender, in the best sense of the word. He never makes a bad move, he’s tough in the tackle. He wants his man to feel he’s in for a rough night. I love defenders like him in my team.
“They’ve got grit. Tthey’re tactically flexible because they’re capable of closing down their man as well as holding their own in one-on-one situations, winning duels and being tactically disciplined.”
Konate has played 28 times times for Les Bleus, making one assist, and is set to make his second FIFA World Cup appearance with the two-time champions.
How many Real Madrid players are at the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
France Portraits - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Source: Getty
France Portraits - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Source: Getty
Real Madrid will be well represented at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which started in Mexico, Canada and the USA on Thursday (June 11). However, for the first time ever, no Los Blancos players were called up by Spain.
The 10 Madrid players selected for the quadrennial event will represent eight different national teams. France (Kylian Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni) and Brazil (Vinicius Junior and Endrick) have two representatives each.
Six other teams - Germany, England, Belgium, Uruguay, Morocco and Turkey - have one Real Madrid player apiece. Among the group, Mbappe and Antonio Rudiger (Germany) are set to appear in their third World Cup.