"It is a decision by my coach. I feel very good physically. I don't have any injury. If I have less playing time, it is due to last season where I was well below my standards," Jules Koundé said. The Barcelona defender has been left out of the last three La Liga matches and has only been used for 10 minutes across the opening two league fixtures. He has made five appearances in all competitions this season.

Kounde's explanation

The straight part of his message is that this is not about fitness. Kounde put the drop in minutes on his own standards last season and framed the current situation as something he has to fix himself.

"It is a consequence and a challenge that I accept gladly. I will have to work, which is what I normally do. It is up to me to recover my best feelings. I know that when I am in my best condition, I will have playing time," he said.

That sits well with the numbers. He has only 177 league minutes and a 6.88 La Liga rating, while Eric García has six league appearances and is currently ahead of him in the Barcelona right-back pecking order.

Barcelona's right-back choice

Hansi Flick is making the call in a team that has given up very little in the league, so Kounde is having to win back his place inside a side that is functioning. That makes the fight harder, and it also makes his public acceptance of blame harder to ignore.

The club context is not a crisis. Barcelona are top of La Liga with 21 points from seven matches and have conceded only seven league goals. Kounde is trying to force his way back into that rotation rather than waiting for the door to open.

He has already started and played the full 90 minutes for France in Zinedine Zidane's debut against Turkiye in September, then spent the next two games on the bench against Belgium and Italy. That kind of mix is fine if it stays temporary. For Barcelona, the key figure is still the same, five appearances and a player saying the problem is his own level, not his body.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →