Barcelona paid Sevilla 50 million euros for Jules Kounde, who signed a five-year contract plus 10 million in bonuses according the Spanish media.
Jules Kounde, a French international center back, was officially introduced by Barcelona on Monday, and he expressed his happiness at joining an ambitious team.
As usual, the press conference is usually the most captivating aspect of these gatherings. Kounde received less inquiries regarding potential signings than Laporta did.
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“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 remarked during his first press conference as a member of Barcelona on Monday afternoon at the Catalan club’s training centre.
Prior to his signing, there were persistent rumors that Sevilla and Chelsea had reached an agreement to acquire the French defender.
“Yes, it’s true that I had the opportunity to sign for another club [Chelsea], but the choice was clear for me. It wasn’t an effort for me to come, because I knew I wanted to come to Barcelona” Kounde admitted.
The former Bordeaux player said his “knowledge of La Liga will make it easier to adapt”. “The most important thing will be to adapt to the Barca style.”
“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 added.
“He asked me to continue doing what I was doing at Sevilla: being aggressive, getting the ball out of our own half.”
Kounde admitted that Gerard Pique, Ronald Araujo, Eric Garcia, and Danish recruit Andreas Christensen will all be vying for the starting spot against him.
“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.”
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