Barcelona officially presented centre back Jules Kounde on Monday, with the French international declaring he was happy to join an ambitious club.
“I’m very happy, very proud. I’m coming to a big club, an ambitious club, and I’m also coming with ambition,” the 23-year-old said at his first press conference as a Barcelona player on Monday afternoon at the Catalan club’s training centre.
According to the Spanish press, Barca paid Sevilla 50 million euros, with 10 million in bonuses, for Kounde who has signed a five-year contract.
He had also been linked to Premier League club Chelsea.
“It’s true that I had another offer but I made the effort to wait for Barca to reach an agreement with Sevilla,” said Kounde.
“When I saw that it was possible, I chose Barca because I knew very clearly where I wanted to go.
“It wasn’t a big decision, because I wanted to come here.”