Sevilla Sporting Director Lifts The Lid On Why Jules Kounde Chose Barcelona Over Chelsea Sevilla sporting director Monchi has revealed Jules Kounde’s decision to choose Barcelona over Chelsea.
The French international has been the subject of significant transfer rumours in recent weeks, with the Blues attempting to secure a deal for him.
Despite continuous rumours earlier this month indicating that a deal between Sevilla and Chelsea was nearing completion, Barcelona turned Kounde’s head.
The 23-year-old has acknowledged that the possibility of working with Xavi had a significant role in his choice to relocate to Catalonia ahead of the 2022–23 season.
Monchi, however, has provided further insight into the club’s discussions with Chelsea as Barcelona has now successfully acquired their top defensive target.
“Chelsea kept us locked in talks for the past month, and we and the player reached a verbal agreement with them last Thursday”, as per reports from Sky Sports.
“But at the last moment, when everything seemed to be agreed, Chelsea had a few doubts about the deal.
“There were unsure if he was the type of player they needed and if Kounde was the profile they wanted.
“Alemany then registered Barcelona’s interest for the first time on Monday.
“We asked them to make a bid and their first one fell short of what we expected.
“But after working on it, we got to a very important figure, which makes up the record sale in the club’s history.
“Chelsea returned to the table, but we accepted Barcelona’s bid because it was better than Chelsea’s.
“We sold the player to a club which he was happy to go to, with Sevilla able to get the best possible terms.” He explained.
Kounde won’t travel to America with the Barcelona team because they will be returning to Spain this weekend in preparation for the Joan Gamper Trophy final on August 7 versus Pumas UNAM.