Barcelona officially presented centre back Jules Kounde on Monday, with the French international declaring he was happy to join an ambitious club.
“I’m very happy, very proud. I’m coming to a big club, an ambitious club, and I’m also coming with ambition,” the 23-year-old said at his first press conference as a Barcelona player on Monday afternoon at the Catalan club’s training centre.
According to the Spanish press, Barca paid Sevilla 50 million euros, with 10 million in bonuses, for Kounde who has signed a five-year contract.
He had also been linked to Premier League club Chelsea.
“It’s true that I had another offer but I made the effort to wait for Barca to reach an agreement with Sevilla,” said Kounde.
“When I saw that it was possible, I chose Barca because I knew very clearly where I wanted to go.
“It wasn’t a big decision, because I wanted to come here.”
Muy buenas noches Culers!
— Jules Kounde (@jkeey4) July 28, 2022
Muy ilusionado y con muchas ganas de empezar este nuevo capítulo 💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/WLPlIsHf60
Kounde joined Sevilla from Bordeaux in 2019 and said his “knowledge of La Liga will make it easier to adapt”.
“The most important thing will be to adapt to the Barca style,” he added.
Kounde said he had been talking to Barcelona coach Xavi for several weeks.
“From the start I felt the kindness of the coach, I felt that he wanted me to come. That was one of the keys, because it’s one of the most important steps in my career,” he said.
“He asked me to continue doing what I was doing at Sevilla: being aggressive, getting the ball out of our own half.”
The Frenchman faces competition for a starting place from Gerard Pique, Ronald Araujo, Eric Garcia, and Danish recruit Andreas Christensen.
“It’s true that there is competition, but it’s good for the team,” he said.
“The coach will decide, I’m not worried about that. Here I will have to grow up, because I am still young, and help the team at all times. I will take the competition as a challenge.”
Author
World Cup News
-
Football
/ 15 hours agoFIFA confirm three candidates to host 2027 Women’s World Cup
FIFA on Saturday confirmed that three bids to host the Women’s World Cup in...
By Gianluca Lia -
Football
/ 3 weeks agoMessi’s 2022 World Cup jerseys predicted to top $10 mln at auction
A set of six jerseys that Lionel Messi wore during Argentina’s victorious 2022 World...
By AFP -
Football
/ 1 month agoSaudi ready for summer or winter World Cup in 2034: FA chief
Saudi Arabia is prepared to host the 2034 World Cup in summer or winter,...
By AFP -
Football
/ 1 month agoUpdate: Saudi Arabia only bidder for 2034 World Cup
Saudi Arabia is in line to host the 2034 World Cup after FIFA announced...
By AFP