Xavi confirms he personally requested Barcelona’s signing of ‘one of world’s best defenders’ | OneFootball

Barcelona head coach Xavi has on Friday moved to lavish praise on a leading member of his squad.

The player in question? Jules Koundé.

France international Koundé, of course, has been widely hailed over the course of the last couple of months in Catalunya’s capital.

As much comes with the former Sevilla man having firmly recovered from a difficult start to the season, to rediscover his very best form in Barca’s colours.

Never was this more evident than in midweek, when Koundé did a masterful job of keeping compatriot Kylian Mbappé under wraps in the Blaugrana’s Champions League quarter-final first-leg meeting with Paris Saint-Germain.

Speaking to the media ahead of his side’s return to La Liga action against Cádiz on Saturday, the subject of his right-back’s renewed excellence was in turn put to the aforementioned Xavi.

And, in his response, Barcelona’s headmaster confirmed that he personally requested Koundé’s signing back in the summer of 2022, with the 25-year-old having since developed into ‘one of the best in the world’ in his role:

“Koundé? I can say that he was one of the transfers that I asked for. He’s one of the best defenders in the world right now.”

Conor Laird | GSFN