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Barcelona defender Jules Kounde has provided an honest response to a Twitter user who attempted to take a cheeky dig at his salary status at Camp Nou.
Barcelona played their sixth La Liga match of the season against Elche on Saturday (September 17). Kounde was in the starting XI for the Catalans as they went on to earn an easy 3-0 victory.
Over 24 hours later, the France international posted two sad emojis on Twitter without providing further context. For those who do not follow him regularly, it appeared to be a cryptic post.
Twitter users thus took the opportunity to draw their own assumptions about Kounde's tweet. Someone by the username KALYJAY attempted to take a cheeky dig at the defender by asking if the sad emojis had anything to do with his salary status at Barcelona. He wrote:
"You [Kounde] haven't received your salary yet?"
Kounde, though, was in no mood for jokes as he hit back at the fan in question with an honest response. The centre-back revealed that the Blaugrana have paid his wages in full so far. He wrote:
"Salary has been paid in full, thanks for your concern my G."
Most supporters are aware of Barcelona's well-documented financial constraints. Frenkie de Jong's proposed summer transfer to Manchester United hit a snag after it emerged that the Catalans owe him £17 million in deferred wages.
Martin Braithwaite also demanded to receive his full salary before agreeing to terminate his contract with the Camp Nou outfit. There has thus been a lot of talk about the club's financial problems over recent months.
Despite all that, the Blaugrana made seven new additions to their squad in the transfer window. They signed Raphinha, Kounde, Robert Lewandowski, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Hector Bellerin and Marcos Alonso.
As Barcelona signed new players, fans continued to question their ability to spend money amidst financial constraints. Some even jokingly warned the new arrivals that they will not be paid in full during their stint at Camp Nou.
KALYJAY's dig at Kounde is such an attempt to take aim at the La Liga giants' financial status.
What was Barcelona defender Kounde's original tweet about?
Those who follow Catalans defender Kounde will know that he is an ardent basketball fan. The 23-year-old's original post with two sad emojis was in relation to Sunday's EuroBasket final.
Spain and France locked horns in the final of the EuroBasket 2022 on September 18. The former went on to earn a victory over the latter in the game, with the final scoreline reading 88-76.
It is evident that Kounde was disappointed to see his national suffering defeat in the EuroBasket final. He even went on to thank France Basketball for their efforts in the competition. He wrote on Twitter:
"Thank you for the emotions throughout the competition."
The Frenchman also reserved praise for Spain Basketball, who won the competition.
