Last week, Chelsea and Sevilla reached a £55 million agreement. Additionally, Chelsea and the France international finalized their personal terms.
Even the president of Barcelona, Joan Laporta, admitted defeat by informing a supporter that Kounde was leaving for Chelsea.
However, according to Monchi, Chelsea ‘had doubts’ about signing Kounde and halted the negotiations, which allowed Barcelona to step in and conclude a €55 million (£46.1 million) deal with Sevilla.
Jules Koundé AFTER JOINING BARCELONA: "I am very excited about this opportunity. I have signed up for a huge club. I'm looking forward to meeting my teammates. "I know Sevilla is a great club, but I think Barça is a big step in my career at all levels. I want to compete and win a lot of trophies. That's why I'm here."
On Friday, Monchi remarked regarding Kounde’s situation: ‘At the beginning of the market there were more suitors than there were at the end, more interested clubs,
‘In the final stretch, Chelsea stayed above everyone else, we’d been negotiating over the past month until to the point that we reached a verbal agreement last Thursday.
‘The player also reached an agreement but at the last moment, Chelsea had doubts. Everything stopped, there was a very good offer but they decided to stop.
‘Then Barcelona appeared. The first time that Alemany contacted me was on Monday and Barca conveyed their interest to us. We asked them for an offer that, at first, was lower than what we had in mind but it’s true that afterwards comes an important effort from Barcelona and with a significant amount, the largest in Sevilla’s history.
‘We had to negotiate with difficult conditions because we needed capital gains. The player had two years left on his contract and, if not, he was coming out this summer, we were dead. It would have been the third time we told him ‘no.’ In addition to being professional, you also have to look at the person.
‘The president, the vice president and I have achieved a very important figure without having to pay a commission or an intermediary. Whether we like it or not, the market sets the guidelines and the offers we have had, from City ,Chelsea and Barcelona have always been around a certain amount, we need to sell and we have to say it clearly.
‘The player, on Thursday night, was sold to Chelsea. With an agreement between the clubs and with the player, but, even if you have been in this world for a long time, there are situations that still surprise you.
‘There were some moves at Chelsea that made them doubt Kounde’s profile. The wait was delayed to the point that Barca appeared.
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‘Chelsea wanted to come back, but Barca’s offer was better. We decided to sell him to the team that the player was satisfied to go and gave Sevilla better conditions, better conditions. The best offer we have received is from Barcelona, that is how it is.’
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