On this week’s international match day, major leagues have entered an intermission period. The 19-year-old Giu, who moved to Chelsea from Barcelona last summer, was interviewed by Spanish TV station TV3.
■ Recalling his last time in Barcelona
Giu said: "To be honest, I might have been able to play some more games in Barcelona at that time, but the club obviously had other plans. The team had Lewandowski, and Vitor Roque had just been signed. I knew very well that I no longer had a place."
In addition, Barcelona was also undergoing a coaching change at the time. Xavi, who gave him his first-team debut, left, and German Flick took over the team. During that period of uncertainty, Jiu did not get the signal to stay.
Giou said: "The only time I talked to Flick was during the play-offs. He just said to me that I hope everything goes well."
■Giou admitted that he had realized that parting was inevitable at that time
Giu said: "I really hoped that the coach would call me, but he didn't. In the end, I understood that it was not good for me to stay on the team under this situation, so I decided to leave."
Since then, Giu's performance has been ups and downs. This season's situation is a good example. He originally chose to join Sunderland on loan to gain playing time that he could not get at Chelsea, but due to forward injuries in coach Maresca's team, the coach decided to recall him to strengthen the offensive force.
If all goes well, Giu is expected to enter Chelsea's squad and play in the fifth round of the Champions League group stage against Barcelona on November 25.