Barcelona have finally registered summer signing Jules Kounde and the French defender has been named in the squad for Sunday’s La Liga clash against Real Valladolid.
Kounde was the only one of Barca’s summer signings not to be registered ahead of the new season, with the Catalan club seeking to balance their books in order to comply with strict La Liga financial rules.
According to a number of reports in Spain, Barcelona were able to register Kounde thanks to Article 92 of the LaLiga regulations, after club president Joan Laporta and treasurer Ferran Oliva posted a bank guarantee to extend the spending margin on wages.
𝐒𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/K6YWNTs2VLAugust 28, 2022
Kounde, a €55m summer signing from Sevilla, has only appeared in two friendlies for Barcelona so far and is believed to have a clause in his contract allowing him to leave for free if he isn’t. not registered by the end of this month.
Barcelona raised hundreds of millions this summer selling future television rights and a percentage of their in-house production company, but LaLiga had told them they would need to sell players before they could register Kounde.
Some funds will still be needed to cover the bank guarantee, with a number of players available before the transfer window closes this week – including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Frenkie de Jong.
Meanwhile, defender Samuel Umtiti has joined Lecce on loan for the rest of the season.
With his signing confirmed, Kounde is now set to make his debut for Barcelona against Valladolid at Camp Nou later on Sunday.
