How Barcelona registered Jules Kounde to La Liga – report

For the first two games of the 2022/23 La Liga season, Barcelona’s squad list did not feature the same four players – Martin Braithwaite, Samuel Umtiti, Sergino Dest, and Jules Kounde.

The odd man out in this list, very obviously, is Kounde. Xavi has already informed the first three to leave the club – Umtiti already has -, but as for the recently-acquired Sevilla defender, his case was different.

Barcelona were unable to register Kounde to La Liga despite generating ~€700 million in extra revenue through ‘economic levers’. However, ahead of the Real Valladolid clash tomorrow, the Frenchman has found his way into the league’s inventory, finally.

Catalunya Radio explains how Barça registered him without offloading any players or taking off any salaries from their books. They appealed through La Liga regulations article 92. What is article 92, though?

It states that clubs are allowed to inject temporary income into their books, which is anticipated by shareholders or a third party. It has to be, however, restored at the end of the year.

The commitment for this falls on the part of the club, who have to make sure it gears back to the original situation through incoming revenue.

For this, guarantees must be provided through a cash deposit or a bank guarantee, which must be provided by the shareholder or a third party outside the club, but never by the club itself, AS says.

President Joan Laporta and treasurer Ferran Olive deposited a bank guarantee to expand Barcelona’s salary margin, therefore making room for an additional player – Jules Kounde.