Jules Kounde’s non-registration has angered Barcelona head coach Xavi, but he wants to have him join the team by next week.
Prior to the start of the season, the Catalan team acquired Kounde from Sevilla for a reported fee of €55 million, outbidding Chelsea of the Premier League for the services of the France international.
However, due to financial constraints, Kounde has not yet been registered, despite the fact that other recent additions Franck Kessie, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Andreas Christensen, and others have all been registered and have already made their debuts.
Although Xavi is obviously annoyed by the situation, he has congratulated Mateu Alemany, the club director, and expressed the hope that Kounde will be able to make his debut against Real Valladolid the following Sunday.
“It’s the situation we have, it bothers me not to have Kounde, those who don’t come out depend on many things. It bothers me not to have Jules. Maybe he would have played today for sure,” he said in a press conference after the 4-1 win against Real Sociedad.
“It bothers us all. Mateu [Alemany] is doing an extraordinary job. It bothers me because it is important, Mateu must be upset. The work the club is doing is extraordinary.
“It bothers me that he’s training well and can’t even play. Let’s wait for next week.”
Barcelona’s ability to register Kounde hinges on outgoings at the club to balance the finances, with Samuel Umtiti, Sergino Dest, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Martin Braithwaite and Memphis Depay touted for exits.
