Jules Kounde Reveals Why he Snubbed Chelsea for Barcelona

• Sevilla centre back Jules Kounde has explained how Xavi Hernandez influenced on his decision to join Barcelona this summer
• Chelsea had already agreed on a transfer for the player’s services but the Catalan giants hijacked the deal
• Barcelona will pay Sevilla a transfer fee of €50 million plus an additional €10 million in various performance-related add-ons

FC Barcelona reached an agreement with Sevilla for the transfer of Jules Kounde, the club announced on Thursday.

The Catalan giants will pay Sevilla a transfer fee of €50 million plus an additional €10 million in various performance-related add-ons

According to Kounde, he was one step away from signing for Chelsea when Xavi Hernandez intervened.

Despite only having been in the hot seat at Barcelona for nine months, Xavi appears to have a knack for getting through to footballers.

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The Barcelona manager convinced the versatile defender to give the Blaugrana more time to finalize his transfer, promising him a key role on the team.

“Xavi is one of the great reasons that I am here. I spoke various times with him and the way he spoke was captivating. We had some good conversations, we see football the same way. Now it is a question of coming into the team and winning as many minutes as possible.”

Barcelona Could Miss Out on Transfer Targets César Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso After Angering Chelsea

Meanwhile, Chelsea are angry with Barcelona and have blocked negotiations for both César Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso.

Barcelona were looking to bring in the two defenders from the Blues before the new season kicks off. Both sides have already had a few dealings during the current transfer window.

Barcelona first signed Andreas Christensen from the London-based club on a free transfer and then beat Chelsea to Ousmane Dembélé’s signature. Chelsea were keen on the Frenchman when his contract expired with the Spanish club, but Barcelona were quick to get him to re-sign.

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Barcelona drop a transfer hint by putting a Jules Koundé shirt up for sale

Sports Brief earlier reported that Spanish giants FC Barcelona are on the verge of announcing French defender Jules Jules Koundé as their new player.

Koundé has expressed his desire to join the Catalan club next season despite Chelsea already agreeing on a deal with Sevilla.

In a video posted on Twitter that was sighted by Sports Brief, a shirt with Jules Koundé's name became briefly available in Barcelona's online store.