Liverpool defender is always applauded by French fans when returning to his home country for European games, something that.
Mbappe is living his childhood dream after moving to in the summer and already securing a World Cup medal with France, but his start to life in the Spanish capital hasn't been all positive. Mbappe has seven goals in 11 games for Madrid, but with Barcelona leading La Liga some fans have claimed that the French forward could be having a negative impact on the team due to a cluster of egos.
The 25-year-old was also booed heavily during a shock 1-0 defeat away to Lille in the , with the French fans not giving the former Paris Saint-Germain player a welcome reception. The Lille animosity has since spread across the country, as Mbappe isn't in the France squad for the upcoming Nations League games.
Konate is in that France squad and has spoken out in defense of Mbappe after admitting he wouldn't be able to handle the spotlight his teammate is under. The defender is also treated very differently around France, so much so that his Liverpool teammates were fooled by who he's played for in the past.
Liverpool signed Konate from the German club RB Leipzig but he had previously played for Sochaux in France. Konate made his senior debut as a 16-year-old which caught Leipzig's attention in his first season, and he is now one of the top French defenders.
Konate is highly rated in France, and his Liverpool teammates were convinced he played for Toulouse after facing them in the Europa League last season. "I don't understand why he (Mbappe) is being booed in Lille," Konate said. "When I played against Toulouse with Liverpool [in the Europa League last season], they gave me an exceptional welcome.
"The Liverpool players really thought that I had played with Toulouse in my career. I think he is over that, but it must not be easy to experience that in his country, it's weird all the same."
Konate has also issued concerns about Mbappe's mental health and has vowed to reach out to the Madrid star. "Sometimes I put myself in his shoes, and if I had all this hype around me, I don't know if I would have held on," Konate said at a press conference.
"He managed to do it and he continues to do it. He may have a psychological breakdown in his life, I have no idea, but I would like to discuss it with him.
"But you have to put yourself in his shoes. Everything that revolves around him is... He has no life! He has no life! And it must be hard for him."
