Konaté: Once Ekitike Was Exhausted and Didn’t Want Extra Training—I Asked Him If He Wanted to Make the France Squad

Ibrahima Konaté revealed in an interview that he once used the prospect of being selected for the France national team to motivate his teammate Hugo Ekitike to do extra training.

The France squad for the new period has been announced, with Liverpool forward Ekitike included. Konaté said in the interview: “Once, I pulled his ear a little—it was a funny moment. After that training session, we were supposed to go to the gym. He was so tired because our training intensity is really high, extremely exhausting.”

“I went over to ask him to come to the gym with me, but he said—‘But I’m completely exhausted!’”

“Actually, extra training isn’t mandatory, but it’s better to do it. So I looked at him and said—‘Do you really want to make the France squad, or not?’”

“After I said that, I left. And guess what? A minute later, he showed up in the gym!”