At the beginning of the 2022-2023 season, defender Jules Kounde joined Barca for about 50 million euros from Sevilla. He quickly integrated well and achieved success. In addition to Xavi's team winning La Liga after a 4-year wait, the Blaugrana defense also conceded the least goal in the tournament.
Having started 26 of his 27 La Liga games, Jules Kounde surprisingly felt dissatisfied. According to journalist Toni Juanmarti, the French defender felt cheated by coach Xavi and wanted to leave after 1 year.
Things had to return in the summer of 2022, when Chelsea were the leader in the hunt for Kounde's signature. Unexpectedly, Barca took the initiative and, despite accepting to pay less, they still received a nod from the former Sevilla defender.
The main reason was because coach Xavi called Kounde, promising him to play as a central defender, something Chelsea did not guarantee. However, in the end, when he arrived at Barca, the former Sevilla star was forced to play right-back, not center-back.
Coach Xavi knows he has broken his promise, but he can only choose the optimal option. Right-back Hector Bellerin was disappointing, while the central defender duo Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo were more outstanding in terms of physique and also played very consistently.
Before Jules Kounde wanted to leave, Barca's sporting director Mateu Alemany confirmed this. He told DAZN: These are internal situations that we will handle internally.
If Barca have to part ways with Kounde, they hope to make a profit from the deal. Having spent 50 million euros on Sevilla, the Catalan team wants any team that wants Jules to put more negotiations on the table than the above figure. Currently, Chelsea continues to be considered the ideal destination for Kounde.
