The Jules Kounde clause that threatens fresh crisis at Barcelona

The summer saga at Barcelona could be set to continue, as reports claim Jules Kounde could walk away from the Nou Camp due to a clause in his contract.

Earlier this week, COPE journalist Pedro Morata revealed that the club needed between €20-30 million to register all their new players. Consequently, Barca started negotiating pay cuts with a number of senior players. In addition, they intended on letting several others move elsewhere.

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The Spanish giants felt that removing this pressure from their wage bill would allow Kounde to sign.

Vice-President Rafael Yuste, told Barca TV+ (via Barca Universal): “Kounde wanted to play. [against Vallecano]. But we explained the situation, and told him that we’ll do everything possible for him to play next weekend.”

However, having failed to sell a single player at the time of writing, the club face a race against time.

Jules Kounde clause could prove disastrous for Barcelona

The program Què T’hi Jugues (via SPORT) has confirmed that the player has the same clause in his contract that Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie had. They were able to leave Camp Nou if they were not registered by a specific date.

However, Barca avoided catastrophe by registering both players for their opening league game. But the clock is ticking for Kounde. If they do not register him by August 31, he will be released.

In addition, the La Liga side would have to give Sevilla a further €2.5 million in add-ons when he is registered. However, Barcelona are not worried about this situation. They still believe that they will register the 23-year-old on time.

In order to solve the problem, they are trying to sell Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has been linked with Chelsea. The money generated from his departure would allow them to register the player they desire the most. In addition, they’re also happy to wave goodbye to Memphis Depay, who is reportedly close to joining Juventus.

The club wants to register Marcos Alonso as well. But Kounde remains their biggest priority. It seems likely that he will be registered before the due date. However, nothing is guaranteed – and this could cause Barcelona panic right up until the deadline if other players don’t move on swiftly.

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