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Kounde Barcelona 2022-23Getty Images
Ewan Gennery

Kounde left out of Barca squad to face Real Sociedad after Xavi's admission that €60m signing is still not registered

Barcelona
J. Kounde
Real Sociedad vs Barcelona
LaLiga
Real Sociedad

The Spanish boss will have to wait to call on his new signing as the Blaugrana's financial troubles continue

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Jules Kounde has been left out of Barcelona's squad to face Real Sociedad following Xavi's admission that the €60 million (£51m/$60m) summer signing is still not registered. It is no secret that Barca are having financial troubles, and over the summer the club have triggered several 'economic levers' in an attempt to clear their €1.35 billion (£1.16bn/$1.42bn) debt.

They managed to register new signings Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Andreas Christensen and Frank Kessie before their opening La Liga fixture last weekend, but still need to raise funds in order to register Kounde.

What has Xavi said about Kounde's registration issue at Barca?

Kounde did not make Xavi's final squad for the trip to Sociedad on Sunday. The Spanish manager conceded that he is unsure of what is happening with the defender's registration at his pre-match press conference, saying: "At the moment, we don't know anything. We are on standby."

Xavi is, however, backing his new signing to show his quality when he can finally feature for his new club.

"We are waiting. Kounde is a great leader and a great player. Hopefully he shows it soon," he said.

Next matches
BAR

BAR

LaLiga

31 Oct 2026

ALA

ALA

ATH

ATH

LaLiga

01 Nov 2026

RSO

RSO

"He has trained very well, I see him in good spirits, but we need to sell players to be able to register him."

KoundeImago Images

What other steps are Barca taking to balance the books?

Barca's best bet at balancing their books is to sell more players before the end of the transfer window. Pierre-Emrick Aubameyang, who only arrived at the club in January, and Memphis Depay are both strongly liked with exits, with Chelsea and Juventus likely respective destinations.

Both men have made the final squad for the Sociedad game, though, with Xavi adding on the duo: "The transfer market ends on 31 August and we don't know what will happen.

"Auba and Memphis are still here, so tomorrow we will use them. But the priority is to register Kounde."

Barcelona could also sell midfielderFrenkie de Jong, Manchester United's top midfield target, before the transfer window closes, with Chelsea also reportedly interested in his services.

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