“If a Barca player won the Ballon d'Or, it would mean we've achieved a lot”

Kounde was given a press conference on the first day of training for the French national team. The French defender discussed the first leg of the Nations League quarter-final against Croatia, but also had time to address other issues.

"The desire is still there. With the French national team, we have a duty to fulfill. We want to win, to take our chances. We take this double-header very seriously. We want to qualify for the Final Four. And win. It's a less showy competition than the European Championship and the World Cup, but we want to win it," he began.

On his position at right back: "It was a position that took me a while to adapt to. I knew it would take time, the two positions had nothing in common. They require very different qualities. It's the result of a lot of work. I feel more comfortable, I enjoy it. I still have a lot of things I need to improve. I'm happy with my progress, I consider myself both a full-back and a centre-back."

Kounde declined to comment on the Ballon d'Or, although he prefers it to go to a Barcelona player: "That's a difficult question. They are all having very, very good seasons. It's difficult to pick a favourite. They are all impressive. They are different players. If a Barcelona player were to win, it would mean that we have gone far in the big competitions...".

Finally, he spoke about his relationship with Lamine Yamal: "We get along very well on and off the pitch. He achieves exceptional things, but he's still a kid, a teenager, he likes to joke around. It's easy to play with a player like him. We have a great complementarity.