After activating four economic levers this summer, Barcelona managed to rake in nearly €700 million in revenue. Out of that, they spent €150 odd million on five players, bringing in Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, and Franck Kessie.
While they are not short of cash, they do have to comply to La Liga’s financial fair play, and raise more money before registering all players. Barça have managed to register four of the five new signings, along with the two renewers – Ousmane Dembele and Sergi Roberto.
Kounde is the odd man out, and is not taking the situation well. According to Catalunya Radio, the Frenchman is ‘very angry’ with Barcelona.
The club promised him that he would be registered in time for the Real Sociedad game and would get the chance to make his official debut, too.
However, they were unable to offload the players they’d planned in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Memphis Depay, which eventually halted Kounde’s registration.
The ex-Sevilla man has completely recovered from his injury, and is extremely unhappy about Barcelona not keeping their promise. His relationship with Xavi, though, is still intact.
The report also says that Kounde will be able to depart on a free transfer if he is not registered by August 31st. The clause was included in his contract as a precautionary measure, but could become Barcelona’s biggest nightmare.
As it stands, though, the Catalans believe they can slot him into the team before the Real Valladolid clash next Sunday. The deal to sell Auba to Chelsea is reportedly in its final stages, with a fee of €22 million + €5 million almost agreed.