For the second week running, Barcelona bested Chelsea in the pursuit of a marquee signing as they acquired Jules Kounde from Sevilla for €50 million plus add-ons. The deal with the Blues all but official when the Catalans swooped in to hijack it.
Sevilla sporting director Monchi explained how the negotiations went down and eventually how Barcelona signed Kounde from under Chelsea’s noses.
Last Thursday, we had an agreement with Chelsea and the player. When everything was closed, and there was a good offer, everything stopped,” he said speaking to SFC Radio, as relayed by Ruben Uria.
Monchi then elaborated on how the deal with Chelsea fell through even though there was an agreement with the club and player:
“Kounde agreed on the sale to Chelsea, there was an agreement with the player. At Chelsea, they hesitated and said they wanted to wait. While they delayed it, Barcelona appeared.
“The first time that Mateu Alemany contacted me was on Monday, he conveyed Barcelona’s interest to us, we asked him for an offer, and a lower one initially arrived than what we had in mind.”
Barcelona did try to lowball Sevilla in the first instance, offering €45 million plus add-ons, but eventually settled on €50 million plus add-ons, which is a spectacular deal for the best centre-back in the league.
“It is true Chelsea wanted to return, but in the end, Barcelona’s offer was better,” Monchi concluded.