Sevilla sporting director Monchi has confirmed that Chelsea did indeed fail in their pursuit to land Jules Kounde, who was unveiled as the latest FC Barcelona signing this past week.
The Blues were gazumped by Barcelona in the transfer market again. Having already beaten the Blues to Raphinha and stealing Andreas Christensen off of them, the Catalans swept in to sign Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde.
Barcelona paid the Andalusians a fee of 50 million euros for the France international, with an additional 10 million wrapped up in add-ons. Reports indicated that the Blaugrana’s final offer was less than Chelsea’s, who, according to Monchi, had all but agreed to sign the Frenchman before it collapsed.
“Last Thursday, we had a verbal agreement with Chelsea, and Chelsea had an agreement with the player. The player was sold to Chelsea, it was all agreed,”
Monchi said, per Eurosport.
“But then doubts appeared, not about the player’s quality, but about his profile, whether they preferred a different type of player. Barca only appeared for the first time at the weekend, the first time I spoke to Mateu Alemany was on Monday.
“Chelsea wanted to come back, but Barca’s offer was higher, and the player now wanted to go there.”
Meanwhile, on Friday, Barcelona confirmed Kounde’s arrival and announced the deal’s details. The club disclosed that the Frenchman had signed a five-year contract, which will run until the end of the 2026/27 season with a mandatory release clause set at one billion euros. Kounde, Barcelona revealed, will be presented as the club’s latest new signing on August 1 behind closed doors at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper.
A Parisian by birth, Kounde broke into senior football at Ligue 1 club Bordeaux in 2017. Two years with Les Girondins were enough to bring the attention of some of Europe’s top clubs, and when Sevilla came calling with an offer of 25 million euros, Bordeaux could not refuse.
In Seville, Kounde forged a unique partnership with Brazilian Diego Carlos, which lasted three seasons and brought one trophy – the UEFA Europa League in 2019/20. He left the Andalusian outfit after 133 appearances and nine goals.
