Barcelona welcome back another key player as Kounde returns | OneFootball

As Hansi Flick himself commented a few days ago, this preseason has been an unusual one, and he has not been able to work with his FC Barcelona team to the best possible extent. One reason for this is that the sporting department has still not been able to finalize the team for the next season, which starts in less than two weeks, as several signings are still being worked upon.

Meanwhile, he also did not have some of his most important players training with him since the start of the preseason training because the players who participated in the World Cup 2026 started and ended their holidays belatedly.

The World Cup players have rejoined the team as their holidays ended, and as Mundo Deportivo has noted, the latest to join Flick in training has been the defender Jules Kounde. He ended his World Cup campaign a day before the Spanish internationals, as his last game was the third-place match against England, which his French team lost.

The Frenchman will thus undergo tests after reporting back to Ciutat Esportiva, and will gradually rejoin his teammates in training, as they have a significant head start over him and are in significantly better physical shape.

Although he ended his World Cup campaign before Spain, some Spanish internationals have already returned to the club, having cut their holidays short. These include Gavi, Eric Garcia, and Joan Garcia. Similarly, the new signing Anthony Gordon, who also ended his World Cup on the same day as Jules Kounde, has also joined his new club and is training at its facilities.

Going forward, Pau Cubarsi, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres, and Lamine Yamal are the only players left to join Flick in training, and they are expected to do so tomorrow, on Wednesday. However, this list can change if Ferran completes his move to PSG and Rodri Hernandez completes his transfer to Barcelona.