During his managerial spell at Barcelona, Xavi Hernandez trusted several young La Masia stars with regular first-team action and honed them into world-class players.
While several of his success stories, including Pau Cubarsi, Lamine Yamal, and Alejandro Balde, are still at the club, others like Marc Guiu opted to leave the team in search of better opportunities.
The teenage center-forward left Barcelona last month and signed a five-year deal with Chelsea after he felt it would be difficult to see minutes under Hansi Flick.
After all, Vitor Roque was a close competitor in his niche while Robert Lewandowski was always expected to continue as the manager’s first-choice center-forward.
Guiu Speaks on Leaving Barcelona
Speaking to the Daily Mail earlier this week, the former Barcelona striker revealed the real reason why he left the Catalan club and insisted that it had nothing to do with contractual disagreements.
“It was a tough decision [to leave Barcelona] but I always wanted to play in the Premier League and this was an amazing opportunity, so I had to go for it.”
“It was not an issue with my contract. I’ve always dreamt of playing in the Premier League and Chelsea is a great club with a lot of history,” he added.
Interestingly, Guiu then stated that he was unsure if he would even be part of the Chelsea first team next season and did not rule out a move on loan.
“I still don’t know if I will go on loan but I think I’m ready for the Premier League.”
With the Premier League giants already having Romelu Lukaku, Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson and Armando Broja as centre-forward options, it remains to be seen if Guiu receives the spotlight he hoped for.
Barcelona, meanwhile, have signed Pau Victor as a replacement in attack and the youngster has got off to a fabulous start to life in Catalonia with three goals in just two games.
