It must be frustrating for real, because that's some weird shit, and it's the whole world that shocked about how Barcelona are getting these deals sealed despite being broke.. I don't know the what the main update on Kounde is but Fabrizio twitter earlier that Sevilla aren't considering Barcelona's bid since it's more or equivalent to that of Chelsea, but the player would rather head to the Catalan.
Kounde is open to moving to Chelsea as well, remember we have also agreed personal terms with him, it's a four team deal so it's difficult to just conclude, Seville wanted a bidding war from both teams because they are only going to keep 80% of the transfer fees, the other 20% is going to Bordeaux who are currently in financial shambles, no way they would allow Seville to settle for a lower bid, Chelsea are growing impatient after waiting far too long, while Barcelona have yet to make an official bid to Seville. Accepting a lower bid in an OPEN bidding war would be unprofessional of Seville. Kounde is tempted to join Barcelona because of Xavi and the treatment he received at the club, but he is still willing to live in London. A better city than slumbering Barcelona.
I was stunned by some sneaky move from Barcelona too especially on that Azpi and Alonso appproach, that's sneaky af probably tryna use some Spain national team trick. with the world cup looming and every player would need to be in a great shape and playing at some right level to make the list as it's still very much open for them all, and playing week in, week out in Barcelona or Real Madrid might be somewhat advantageous in this case, and it's mostly like going to be both players last world cup chances.
The Spanish teams do this every time the World Cup approaches, which is why Barcelona was willing to swap Depay for Morata last season; 80% of the current Barcelona team is made up of Spanish players. To be honest, Azpi and Alonso would fit right into the Barcelona first team, as both players are strong defensively and offensively, but if Kounde joins Baceloma, the Apzi deal is off. We'd let Alonso go because we have Emerson, Kennedy, and Chilwell in that position.
It is not about pure stats and objective view here, it is all about prestige and percived greats. Barca is one of the European greats and Chelsea is not, it is as simple as that.
Yes, their history speaks for itself, but since they stopped bribing UEFA officials, they've been getting knocked out like shit, and Chelsea has won more recent UEFA trophies than Barcelona, who last won the Champions League in 2015 before the introduction of VAR. Barcelona's only chance of winning something is if Messi returns.
In this day and age, a player seeking to win trophies would prefer to join Manchester City or Chelsea over Milan or Barcelona.