Jules Kounde picked Barcelona transfer over Chelsea due to ‘consistent project and coach he likes’, claims Joan Laporta
JULES KOUNDE rejected a switch to Chelsea in favour for Barcelona due to their project and boss Xavi.
That is according to the club’s president Joan Laporta who has declared he was always confident of beating the Blues to his signature.
The West London outfit had agreed a £55million deal with Sevilla for the French centre-back.
But the 23-year-old only had eyes for the Catalan club as he put pen-to-paper on a five-year deal at the Nou Camp.
And Laporta has insisted that the defender only ever wanted to make the move to the LaLiga giants.
Speaking to CBS Sports, he was asked whether he thought Chelsea had won the race to secure Kounde’s services.
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To which he said: “The player preferred Barcelona because he understood we have a consistent project with a coach he likes.
“And in this case, we had an advantage compared to our competitor. This was thanks to the good job that [sporting director] Mateu Alemany did.
“He and [sporting advisor] Jordi Cruyff performed miracles last summer and are doing an excellent job again.
“The player also helped us in this specific deal.”
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As well as Kounde, Chelsea also lost out to Barca for Raphinha, despite agreeing a transfer with Leeds for the Brazilian winger.
And Laporta has stated that just like Kounde, the 25-year-old was only prepared to link up with Xavi’s side.
He remarked: “It was the same. Not only did he wait for us, but in terms of salary, he (like other players) accepted the new wage structure.
“We are very grateful and I think players who do this will be proud of their decision and enjoy Barcelona.”
In another blow for Chelsea, they were also interested in Robert Lewandowski, but the Bayern Munch legend had his heart set on a switch to Barca.