Barcelona’s latest signing Franck Kessie opens upon on being unafraid of hard work | OneFootball

Barcelona have confirmed the signing of Franck Kessie on a free transfer from Milan in a club statement. The Ivorian international has signed a four-year contract at Camp Nou and his buy-out clause has been set at €500m. He’ll be presented on Wednesday.

Kessie was born in Ouragahio in the Ivory Coast and began his career with Stella Club d’Adjame before coming to Europe to join Atalanta in 2014. He consolidated himself in the first team at Atalanta after impressing on loan with Serie B side Cesena.

Kessie then departed Bergamo for Italian giants Milan, initially on loan, in the summer of 2017. He enjoyed five superb seasons at San Siro, proving himself to be a complete midfielder and contributing goals and assists as well as defensive prudence. He was a key part of the team that won Serie A in 2021/22. Xavi Hernandez will hope he can add quality to Barcelona’s midfield.

“I’m not afraid of running,” Kessie has said about his approach to hard work in his game. “It’s something natural for me. I earn a lot of money to sweat on the field. In Africa there are people who walk 30 kilometres every morning for a piece of bread.”