Monchi: “Barcelona’s offer for Jules Koundé was better than Chelsea’s.”

Sevilla director of football Monchi has stated that Barcelona made a better offer for Jules Koundé than Chelsea, which ultimately sealed the sale decision.

In quotes picked up by Marca, Monchi said: “We have sold with the best possible offer and to the club that has bet the most. Although Chelsea wanted to re-enter negotiations in the end, Barcelona’s offer was better than theirs.”

Sevilla agreed a fee of around €50 million euros plus add-ons with Barcelona after a long saga that saw heavy interest from Chelsea as well.

When queried whether they had sold to a direct rival, Monchi denied.

“We are not direct rivals of Barcelona. We are a very ambitious club with a lot of pride, but they are on a different level. They can buy a player of ours for several million euros, we cannot.”

Monchi stated that the sales have been necessary to keep Sevilla financially stable.

“We have made two very good sales to continue maintaining the level of this squad. In that sense, we are not too dissimilar to Villarreal, Betis or La Real. Sevilla continues to grow because we have been in the Champions League for three years in a row. Sevilla grows with its limitations and its feet on the ground.”

GSFN