Jules Kounde has detailed the role Xavi played in bringing the defender to Barcelona from Sevilla, describing how "important" it was the coach was pushing for the deal.
The 23-year-old was long courted by Premier League outfit Chelsea, who were widely reported to be set to secure a deal before Barcelona moved to hijack the agreement.
It was the second time in the window a late Barca move had frustrated the English side, with the Blaugrana beating them to the signature of Raphinha from Leeds United, while they also signed Andreas Christensen on a free transfer from the Blues.
For Kounde, though, the key to his decision was the conversations he had with Xavi.
"I had some good conversations with Xavi, he always expressed desire for me to come here, and that was important for me," he told a news conference.
"This is an important moment in my career, and in the conversations, he asked me to continue to do what I was doing in Sevilla, to continue to be aggressive, bring the ball out from the back, distribute, those are some of my strengths.
"Barcelona is a great club, very demanding as well, and that's something that Xavi talked to me about."
Kounde's arrival at Barcelona comes as part of a significant recruitment drive from Xavi's side, with Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Christensen and Franck Kessie fellow new arrivals.
However, the France international has an advantage due to his experience of playing in Spain and believes he will quickly settle into the club.
"My knowledge of the league is going to make it easier to adapt as soon as possible, to adapt to the Barcelona style as well," he explained.
"My coach is obviously going to ask me to know my team-mates as well, and that's going to take time, but it won't be a problem.
"There is lots of competition, I think it's very good for the team. It's good to have a lot of competition in each spot; there are lots of games, of course.
"What I have to do here is grow and learn. I'm very young still, and I'm here to help the team at any given moment, whatever the coach asks of me and my team-mates.
"It's good that there is competition, I'm really looking forward to playing, and when there's competition, it's a challenge and that's great."
Michel proud Girona's Champions League bow despite late defeat
Michel has urged his team to be proud of their Champions League debut, despite a heartbreaking late defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
The visitors neutralised PSG's attack for much of the game, only for Paulo Gazzaniga, who had made a number of good saves, to let Nuno Mendes' tame delivery slip through his hands and into the back of the net.
The goalkeeper's own goal was the first in the 90th minute of a Champions League game since November 2022 (Porto's Ivan Marcano vs Atletico Madrid), while it was the first-ever such goal that proved to be the winner.
Despite the defeat, the Girona head coach praised his team's effort and the performance of his goalkeeper up until the goal.
"Now in the dressing room, people are a little bit down," Michel told reporters. "I told them that we have to be proud of the game we played.
"PSG subdued us, Gazzaniga made some good saves. There were two or three that could have been goals.
"We have to recognise that their victory is deserved but we are proud of the way we work.
"Let's see if we get another chance to come to Paris next year."
The Spaniard admitted his players were nervous in their first taste of Europe's elite club competition, but he was satisfied with their game as they faced a top-level team.
"At the start of the game, we were very nervous, you could see that. But as the first half went on, we found personality, commitment, attitude," he added.
"In the second half, we were tired. PSG pressed us more, we were continually defending a lot. We passed our first experience in the Champions League.
"We competed against a great team where the pressure can stiffen you and the team gave a good performance."
Girona face Feyenoord in their second league-phase fixture.
'Worse than giving birth' - Luis Enrique notes tough nature of PSG win
Luis Enrique compared Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League opener to childbirth as he admitted he did not enjoy watching their tense late win over Girona.
PSG secured victory after Girona's goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, who had thwarted numerous efforts from the French champions, made a calamitous error in the final minutes.
Nuno Mendes' tame, low delivery into the box slipped through the goalkeeper's grasp and into the back of the net, snatching PSG all three points in a 1-0 win on Wednesday.
Though winning in fortuitous circumstances, PSG have now only lost one of their 37 home games in the group stage of the Champions League (W29 D7) since the start of the 2012-13 campaign, and Luis Enrique acknowledged the tough nature of this victory.
"I think we were superior, but Girona played us in circles and made us dizzy," Luis Enrique told Movistar Plus.
"At half-time, we said that if we didn't press, we were going to suffer. We had to win, and it was very difficult.
"It was very difficult. I told [Girona manager] Michel that this was worse than giving birth, with all due respect."
Under the new Champions League format, teams play eight matches against eight different opponents, with the top eight sides in the 36-team league automatically advancing to the last 16, and the next 16 playing a further knockout round.
Luis Enrique observed that the format creates uncertainty about the significance of results.
"Winning a match or any title is difficult, but we don't know the dimensions of this competition with this format," he added.
"We are going to have to play matches against teams that have easier schedules than ours. How many points are we going to need? There are many unknowns that need to be cleared up."
Despite the victory, PSG suffered a setback as striker Marco Asensio limped off just before half-time. However, Luis Enrique was confident in the strength of his squad.
"He felt a twinge. Marco had started the season well. This is professional football, and we have a very good squad."
PSG will next play Reims away in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Atlanta United 2-2 Inter Miami: Miranchuk stunner ends visitors' winning run
Aleksei Miranchuk's stunning late goal salvaged a 2-2 draw for Atlanta United, ending Inter Miami's winning streak.
The visitors brought Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez off the bench in the second half but were unable to make it six wins on the bounce.
Miami had the better of the first half, with Julian Gressel forcing Brad Guzan into an acrobatic save before David Ruiz snuck in behind the hosts' defence to slot a lovely low shot into the bottom-right corner.
In the 56th minute, Saba Lobjanidze met Pedro Amador's whipped cross with a thumping header, nodding it through Drake Callender's legs, and the keeper arguably should have done better.
But just three minutes later, Miami were back in front – Leonardo Campana's free-kick from just outside the box took a huge deflection off the wall, giving the keeper no chance.
Messi led the search for a late third, with his low shot palmed away by Guzan straight into Suarez's path, but Amador was perfectly placed on the line to block it.
Atlanta then went straight up the other end, with Miranchuk floating a wonderful shot into the top-left corner after cutting inside from the right before Lobjanidze's late effort deflected off Ian Fray onto the post.
Miami are now eight points clear at the top of the Eastern Conference, while Atlanta sit in 11th.
Data Debrief: Campana makes Miami history
Campana may have got a bit of luck with his goal due to a wicked deflection, but he will not care one bit, as that strike was his 30th goal for Miami.
He now becomes the outright all-time leading scorer for the club, overtaking Gonzalo Higuain, though Messi is just three behind him.
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