Barcelona defender Jules Kounde has never been afraid of getting into it with the media, particularly over their more salacious claims, and the French defender has struck again. The 27-year-old has responded to a story about a request he had supposedly made to manager Hansi Flick.

Kounde has done so before, last season he responded to a claim from MD that he and several teammates had attended a party with rapper Travis Scott, following a 4-3 win over Real Madrid in El Clasico. He instructed the journalist in question to ‘do better’.

Jules Kounde calls out ‘lie’ on social media

With teammate Ronald Araujo out of contention currently as he recovers mentally from a difficult time, it had been reported by Cadena Cope that Kounde had spoken with Hansi Flick about a potential change of position. Their story was that the France international had requested to return to his previous position of centre-back with the Uruguayan’s absence reducing the competition for places.

— Jules Kounde (@jkeey4) December 8, 2025

Kounde responded the following day on Twitter/X with a gif pointing to ‘lie’, in a clear denial that the story had occurred.

Ronald Araujo’s leave of absence

Barcelona have granted vice-captain Araujo a leave of absence, with no fixed return date. The 26-year-old defender is enduring the most difficult period of his Barcelona career, and after heavy criticism following a sending off against Chelsea, Hansi Flick has asked the media to respect his privacy, as he tries to get back on an even keel.

Hansi Flick: "Cubarsí is only 18 years old and sometimes we forget him. Cubarsí had 87 passes with a 100% accuracy against Real Betis. I think it's a record in La Liga."

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 8, 2025

Barcelona’s defensive debate

The centre-back position has been a headache for Flick since the exit of Inigo Martinez. Pau Cubarsi has been paired with a number of partners, including Araujo, Eric Garcia, Andreas Christensen and most recently, Gerard Martin. The latter appears to be leading his competition to retain the position, but it is one of the question marks hanging over the starting XI currently.