After Huge Success with Barça, Giuly Departs for Roma

FC Barcelona has agreed to the transfer of Ludovic Giuly to AS Roma for an up-front fee of €3.2 million ($4.4 million), with an additional fee of €1.2 million fee to be paid if Roma qualify for the UEFA Champions League each of the next three years. Giuly, who spent the past three seasons at the Nou Camp, will reportedly sign a 3-year contract that will keep him at Roma through 2010.

Giuly joined Barcelona for €7 million in 2004, after seven years with AS Monaco, where he reached the final of the 2003-04 UEFA Champions League, and was a member of sides that won the French league title in 2001, the League Cup in 2003.

Giuly was vital to Barcelona’s 2004-05 La Liga championship, scoring 11 goals (second on the club to Samuel Eto’o’s 24), despite an injury-plagued season that only saw him play 29 league games.

In Barcelona’s magical 2005-06 season, Giuly captured another Spanish title side, as well as the second Champions League title in the club’s history. Though he was off the pitch even more than in the previous year, scoring seven goals in just 23 games in all competitions, Giuly was one of the keys to Barça’s European glory, as he managed the club’s lone semifinal goal against A.C. Milan.

It dod not take long to determine that the 2006-07 season would be his last in Barcelona, as Giuly started just 15 matches, scoring just 3 league goals. Combined with his declining, the promotion of Lionel Messi from the club’s youth side (which seems to have worked out well) sealed Giuly fate at the club.

As Ludovic Giuly says farewell to the Nou Camp, fans of the Blaugrana must collectively express our sincere gratitude to the pacey Frenchman with whom we’ve two league championships and one Champions League title.