The preseason has already kicked off for FC Barcelona as they prepare themselves for next season. La Blaugrana need to adjust and adapt according to the requirements of the new coach now taking charge at the club. With Hansi Flick now in command, Barcelona must look forward to a new era for themselves.
However, this new era is yet to kick off with the full strength of the squad itself. Many crucial first-team players are still on holiday or competing in the various international continental competitions taking place at the moment, as many of the players from Barcelona were most recently participating in the European Championship.
The most recent Barcelona player to be knocked out of the competition was French defender Jules Kounde. After suffering a defeat to Spain in the semi-final, a match that will be remembered for the history made by young Lamine Yamal, the French team is now enjoying their vacation.
Kounde, however, made sure to make one stop before he fully focused on his vacation. As highlighted by SPORT, the 25-year-old French defender stopped by at the Ciutat Esportiva this Friday only three days after the elimination of his own team from the European Championship.
The reasons behind this unplanned visit were to finally be able to greet Hansi Flick in person and catch up with his Barcelona teammates still in training. Following this visit, Kounde will likely have about three weeks of vacation to enjoy and recover from his time playing in the Euros.
However, Barcelona will be starting their preseason tour ahead of that point and Kounde may have to cut his vacation short slightly to be able to participate in it. That is not something that would be uncommon, however, as he has done so in the past few seasons as well.
Other key Barcelona players such as Robert Lewandowski, Ilkay Gundogan, Andreas Christensen, Ter Stegen, and others are still on vacation as well. Their scenarios will be similar too if they wish to participate in the upcoming tour to the United States of America.