Sevilla chief Monchi admits Chelsea were all set to sign Jules Kounde last week.
Sevilla have sold the France defender to Barcelona in the last 48 hours.
Monchi detailed: “On Thursday we reached a verbal agreement with Chelsea and the player had also made it with the English team, but everything stopped over the weekend.
“In that tug-of-war of Chelsea, (Barca director) Mateo Alemany contacted me on Monday. After working on quantities, we reached an agreement, achieving the most important sale in the club’s history.
“We had a sword of Damocles, who has two years left on his contract and it would be the third time that we would tell him no.
“There were several suitors at the beginning of the summer, but only Chelsea and Barcelona remained at the end. As this football never ceases to amaze, Chelsea began to doubt not the player, but the way to face the market in those defensive positions. The offer was very good, but they decided to stop.”
