FCBARCELONA.CAT

17.07.2007 19:09

Third player to leave Barça

Berta Brau

Ludovic Giuly is leaving FC Barcelona after three seasons at the Club. The 31-year-old French international has been an active participant in the successes of recent years.

Ludovic Giuly is saying farewell after experiencing some of the best years in the recent history of the Club and collecting two league titles and one Champions League.

French beginnings

Giuly started his career with his hometown club Olympique Lyon at the age of 18, spending four seasons there. However, he really made his name after signing for AS Monaco in 1997.

In the Principality

Ludovic Giuly spent seven seasons with Monaco and achieved wider fame under the orders of Monaco manager Didier Deschamps. He won the French league title in 2001 and the League Cup in 2003.

In the 2003-04 season, Monaco reached the final of the Champions League (against Porto), thanks in part to some great performances from Giuly. Monaco lost the final but Giuly achieved international recognition and won a dream move to FC Barcelona.

With Barça

Frank Rijkaard signed Giuly in the summer of 2004 and the French international made his competitive debut against Racing Santander in the Sardinero stadium on 29th August 2004, playing the entire 90 minutes. In his first season he was a fixture on the right wing, playing 29 league matches, 6 in the Champions League and scoring 12 goals. That season FC Barcelona won its 17th league title.

Greater competition

In his second season at the Club, Giuly faced greater competition for a place in the starting line-up with the arrival of Messi and Larsson. Even so, Giuly played 29 league matches, 20 of them in the starting line-up, and scored 5 league goals. One of the best moments of his Barça career came in the 2005-2006 season when he scored the goal in the San Siro against Milan that sent Barça through to the final of the Champions League in Paris.

His last Barça season

In his final season at the Club, Ludovic Giuly played in 27 matches but only 5 of them for the full 90 minutes and just 15 in the starting line-up. His contribution dropped compared to the two previous seasons to 1,464 minutes and just 3 league goals.

This season, apart from the league, Giuly has played in 7 Kings Cup matches, 1 match in the Spanish Super Cup, 8 in the Champions League, 2 in the World Club Championship and 1 in the Copa Catalunya.