Chelsea were interested in Jules Kounde before Barcelona signed him from Sevilla while Franck Kessie joined on a free transfer from AC MilanBarcelona’s sporting director Jordi Cruyff says “the city is alive again” following the arrival of players who “chose to follow their dream” rather than money.Their off-pitch problems and the weakness of their team meant they were no opposition for arch-rivals Real Madrid, who won the Spanish title comfortably and then added the Champions League.It was the first time since 2003-04 that Barca have gone three years without winning the league.The club have however managed to bring in a host of new signings this summer, including Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde.”Barcelona has a magnet, it is beautiful,” Cruyff told Spanish football expert Guillem Balague before the Cruyff Legacy Summit, where Arsene Wenger, Ronald Koeman and Sarina Wiegman are scheduled to speak.”You can see the pride in the eyes of the players when they get a chance to sign for Barcelona and that has helped a lot, being able to compete with clubs with bigger budgets and better salaries.Joining Barca ‘not a big decision’ despite Chelsea interest – Kounde”They wanted to sign for Barcelona and we are very grateful for these players because, believe me, they had better offers than us.”And still they chose to follow their dream to be part of the history. When you see the eyes shining in these players you know you are in a special place.”Barca are unbeaten after five games so far this… Click below to read the full story from BBC Sport
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