Jules Kounde is not fighting the decision. On international duty with France this week, the right-back laid out his own reasoning for why Hansi Flick keeps picking Eric Garcia ahead of him at Barcelona, and the explanation starts with himself.
“I don’t have any injuries. It’s my coach’s decision,” Kounde said.
“It’s a consequence of the previous season, in which I was below my standards.”
The 27-year-old has made just five appearances across all competitions for Barcelona this season, with Garcia installed as Flick’s first-choice right-back from the opening weeks of the 2026-27 campaign.
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Flick made the call in pre-season
Garcia’s promotion was no accident. He told reporters over the summer that Flick had informed him he would be deployed at full-back this season, a conversation that reshuffled the pecking order before a competitive ball had been kicked.
Flick, who recently committed his future to the club on a contract running to 2028, has preferred Garcia’s ball progression and positional discipline at full-back, with Kounde used as cover rather than a lock-in starter.
Kounde says he accepts what has followed.
“It’s a challenge that I accept. It’s up to me to recover my sensations because I know that, when I’m at my best level, I can have minutes.”
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Kalulu now ahead for France
The pattern has repeated at national-team level. Since Zinedine Zidane succeeded Didier Deschamps after France’s fourth-place finish at the World Cup, Pierre Kalulu has moved ahead of Kounde in the Les Bleus pecking order. According to Yahoo Sports, Kounde has not played a single minute for Zidane since an outing against Turkey earlier in the international calendar.
Asked about the new France coach, Kounde kept his assessment to the dressing-room climate.
“He is a coach who is very close to his players, who talks a lot with us both on and off the pitch.”
France face Belgium on Monday at the Stade de France.
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El Clasico looms on 25 October
Barcelona return to league action after the international break, with the fixture that matters already circled. Real Madrid confirmed that El Clasico will be played at Camp Nou on Sunday, 25 October, with kick-off at 9pm local time.
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