Jules Koundé Makes History at FC Barcelona with a Spectacular Record

Jules Koundé was one of the unexpected protagonists of the match between FC Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano last Monday. The Frenchman took all the spotlight in the lead-up to the match after being relegated to the bench for arriving late to Hansi Flick's technical talk before the game, but later, he stepped onto the field in the second half and broke a remarkable record as a culé.

With his participation against the franjirrojos, although brief since he was on the pitch for 'only' 24 minutes, the right-back became the fifth French player with the most matches in the history of the Catalan team. Since his arrival in the Catalan capital in the summer of 2022, the Parisian has donned the blaugrana jersey 125 times, surpassing Ludovic Giuly to secure a spot in the 'top 5'.

The forward, who defended the Barça badge between 2004 and 2008, ended his stint at Spotify Camp Nou with 124 matches played, one less than the '23' culé, whose sights are now set on the other four French players who surpass him in match count: Samuel Umtiti (134), Clément Lenglet (160), Ousmane Dembélé (185), and Éric Abidal (193).

A Historic Season for Jules Koundé

In fact, if he maintains the expected projection from now until the end of the season, it seems that Koundé will finish the season in fourth place in the ranking of French players in the Catalan team, surpassing Umtiti, who has 'only' played 9 more matches than the right-back.

Jules' 125 matches for Barça are distributed across 88 in LaLiga, 19 in the Champions League, 10 in the Cup, six in the Supercopa de España, and two in the Europa League, with a record of 6 goals and 17 assists in 10,560 minutes played.

This season, specifically, has been one of his establishment in the first team, being the player who has played the most minutes (3,005') and, along with Pau Cubarsí, being the only one who has participated in all 37 matches of Barça across all competitions. Additionally, he has celebrated 3 goals and provided 7 assists, establishing himself as the best right-back in the world.

Statistics of Jules Koundé at FC Barcelona:

📊 Jules Koundé

1. Matches: 125 (88 in LaLiga | 10 in the Copa del Rey | 19 in the UEFA Champions League | 6 in the Supercopa de España | 2 in the Europa League) 
2. Goals: 6
3. Assists: 17
4. Minutes played: 10,560
5. Matches by position: 85 as right-back | 40 as center-back