Barcelona have finally registered summer signing Jules Kounde and the France defender has been named in the squad for Sunday's LaLiga clash against Real Valladolid.
Kounde was the only one of Barça's summer signings who was not registered ahead of the new season as the Catalan club sought to balance their books in order to comply with LaLiga's strict financial rules.
According to a number of reports in Spain, Barcelona were able to register Kounde through Article 92 of LaLiga's regulations, after club president Joan Laporta and treasurer Ferran Oliva deposited a bank guarantee to extend the margin for spending on wages.
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Kounde, a €55 million summer signing from Sevilla, has only featured in two friendly fixtures for Barcelona so far and was understood to have a clause in his contract allowing him to leave for free if he was not registered by the end of this month.
Barcelona raised hundreds of millions this summer by selling off future television rights and a percentage of their in-house production company, but had been told by LaLiga that they would need to sell players before they could register Kounde.
Some funds will still be needed to cover the bank guarantee, with a number of players available before the transfer window closes this week – including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Frenkie de Jong.
Meanwhile, defender Samuel Umtiti has joined Serie A side Lecce on loan for the remainder of the season.
With his registration confirmed, Kounde should now make his debut for Barcelona against Valladolid at Camp Nou later on Sunday.
