Mohamed Konaté returns to Russia's Akhmat Grozny after spell in Saudi Pro League
- Andrew Olsson
- Jul 8
- 2 min read
After an unsuccessful one-year spell in the Saudi Pro League with Al Riyadh, Burkina Faso national team striker Mohamed Konaté is returning to familiar territory after completing a return to Russian Premier League side Akhmat Grozny on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old returns to Russian football on a three-year contract, where he has spent the majority of his career. Konaté scored 30 goals in 80 appearances over three seasons for Akhmat before joining Al Riyadh as a free agent ahead of the 2024-25 season. In a season plagued by inconsistency, he scored 4 goals in 29 appearances before falling out of favor and departing.
A powerful striker, Konaté is a much-needed addition to Akhmat after the club struggled for goals last season. Akhmat narrowly avoided relegation and managed only 27 goals in their 30 Russian Premier League games last season, tied for second worst in the league.
Born in the Ivory Coast, Konaté began his career with AS Denguélé in the northwest part of the country before leaving for Eastern Europe at the age of 18. Konaté made his professional debut with Ural Yekaterinburg during the 2016-17 Russian Premier League season. After spending time in Latvia, Belarus, and Armenia before returning to Russia in 2019.
Konaté has become an important player for Burkina Faso since debuting for the senior national team in 2020. He featured in the last two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, making 8 appearances for the Stallions at the 2021 and 2023 tournaments and scoring in Burkina Faso's 2-2 draw with Algeria at the 2023 finals in Ivory Coast.
