26-yaer-old Barcelona star equals Thierry Henry’s record with latest appearance against Atalanta | OneFootball

Ever since his arrival at FC Barcelona in the summer of 2022, Jules Kounde has been an important part of the Blaugrana team, irrespective of the manager in charge.

Although his preferred position was in the center of the defense, Xavi decided to play him on the right flank, mainly because of a lack of players for this position and a surplus of center-backs.

While there have been some problems over the years, Kounde is now a full-time right back this season for Hansi Flick. He is one of the most used players in the squad and finished 2024 as the player with the highest number of minutes (4,643) and games (54) played in the Barcelona squad.

He continues to remain an important part of the team this year as well, and with his appearance against Atalanta last night, played for the 121st time in a Blaugrana shirt.

Thus, Mundo Deportivo notes that he has equaled the appearances record of one of the most prominent French footballers in the Catalan club’s history, Thierry Henry, who won the treble in 2008-09 under Pep Guardiola.

Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images

Kounde started this season with 88 Barcelona appearances under his belt, but with his continued presence in Flick’s starting lineups, he has already overtaken two of his compatriots, Mathieus (91) and Griezmann (102), while also equalling Henry.

Currently, he stands sixth in the ranking of French players who have played the most games for Barcelona. Ahead of him are players like Ludovic Giuly (124), Samuel Umtiti (133), Clement Lenglet (16), Ousmane Dembele (185), and Eric Abidal (193).

Thus, while he still has a significant way to go before reaching the numbers of Abidal, no one can bet against him to become the Frenchman with the most appearances in the history of Barcelona when his time at the Catalan club comes to an end.