Barcelona had to push hard and fight off interest from Chelsea in order to sign Jules Kounde from Sevilla in the summer transfer window last year.
The Frenchman was at the centre of the transfer tug-of-war between Barça and Chelsea, which the Catalans eventually won thanks to the player’s desire to move to Camp Nou after talks with manager Xavi Hernandez.
Barcelona secured Kounde’s signing for a fee of €50 million (fixed) plus another €12.5 million in variables. The 24-year-old defender signed a five-year contract with the La Liga leaders.
Now, according to Gabriel Sans of Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona will have to shell out €2.5 million to Sevilla as part of the add-on payment for Kounde if the Frenchman plays one more match for the Catalans this term.
As per the terms agreed between the two teams, Barça would pay a sum of €2.5 million to Sevilla for every season in which the defender plays for 45 minutes or more in 60% of the total matches.
Kounde, so far, has played 32 matches across all competitions for Barcelona out of a possible 44. They still have nine games left in La Liga, which would mean that the team plays 53 matches in total this term.
However, in one of those games against Espanyol, Kounde was on the pitch for just eight minutes, which means it is not counted towards the calculation for the variable payment.
Nevertheless, should he play for a minimum of 45 minutes in another game, it would effectively mean he has featured in 60% of the total matches for Barça this season (32 of 53).
And Barcelona will then have to pay €2.5 million to Sevilla. Should Kounde go on to meet this requirement for all of the five years in his contract, his transfer fee would rise to a total of €62.5 million.
The 24-year-old has been a fine addition to Barça’s backline this term, even though he has had to play as a makeshift right-back for a major part.
His form, coupled with that of Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been key to the Catalans’ exceptional defensive displays.
