Barcelona, after activating the fourth economic lever, bringing in an additional €100 million, has registered almost all of its new players this summer, including re-signees like Ousmane Dembele and Sergi Roberto. However, there are still some places in the hands of Jules Kounde. The former Sevilla centre-back even "held the right shirt" earlier than some but for some reason he has not been registered yet.
Before entering round 1 of La Liga, the team at Nou Camp announced the reason why Kounde could not be registered due to poor physical condition. It has been nearly 2 weeks since then, this reason is very unacceptable for the Cules. Kounde himself is also in a difficult situation. According to the agreement between the two sides, if Barca cannot complete the procedures for this central defender in time, Kounde can completely leave unilaterally, even suing the Catalan team.
According to AS's calculation, Barcelona needs about 17 million more pounds in salary fund to register their 46 million-pund contract. To get this money immediately, the team's leadership is working hard in the last days of the transfer market. The immediate and perhaps most feasible option is to shove down those who are redundant or request a salary reduction.
The cases listed are Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Memphis Depay, Samuel umtiti, Sergino dest and Martin Braithwaite. Among them, Aubameyang has been close to Chelsea, Depay also has a similar gap with Juventus. However, there are also cases that refuse to go like Braithwaite. The Danish striker decided to stay to receive all the money Barca owed him for salary before deciding whether to go or stay. Mallorca are currently closely chasing the 31-year-old. Meanwhile, Lecce is preparing to get um um umtiti officially. The centre-back will soon take a medical check-up with the Italian side and the price will be made public soon.
"The fact that some players don't want to leave doesn't worry me, everyone has a future to look forward to. I just feel a little annoyed because the team still cannot have Kounde.
He is a great star, a true leader on the pitch. Hopefully, Kounde will soon appear and perform everything the most quintessential. During the training sessions, Kounde is very hard-working with a positive attitude. We need to sell some players to be able to register Kounde.
The transfer market will end after August 31 and Barcelona still do not know what will happen. Aubameyang and Depay are still here, we still prioritize using them. However, the club still prioritizes finding a way to register for Kounde" - Xavi shared after the victory over Real Sociedad.
