Giuly: I'm Barça's Greatest Ever Frenchman!

Thierry Henry might not exactly be setting the world alight at Barcelona at the moment, but it is fair to say he still might take exception to comments made by his French international team-mate Ludovic Giuly today.

Speaking to the club magazine of his current team, Paris St-Germain, the winger spoke about his time at Barça and declared that he is the best Frenchman to have ever played for the Camp Nou outfit.

"I continue to be the best French player that has played at Barça," he began.

"I expect in my heart that Thierry [Henry] and Eric [Abidal] are enjoying the same emotions that I had when I was there. Barça is an enormous club that allowed me to win the largest trophies, and whilst at the beginning nothing was clear, I knew to adapt.

"Today I live with a Mallorcan and have a flat in Mallorca as well as Barcelona, I am very proud of my time there."

Whilst not everyone may agree with his assertion, there is little doubt that he did have an impressive spell at the club and he certainly played in a team rich with talent. Speaking about his former team-mates he picked out Samuel Eto'o and Xavi as two of the best in the side.

"I consider him [Eto'o] a friend with whom I have learned a lot. He is a forward who is very good for me and he is one of the players with whom I have a tight relationship," he mused.

"Xavi is a phenomenon on the pitch but also a very funny person off it. In France he is a stranger but I have never seen a player with that much technique. He gives the feeling that he runs two kilometres in an hour but with his technical quality he makes all the plays and always without losing the ball."

Giuly joined Barcelona following a successful spell with Monaco which saw the club reach the Champions League final before they lost to winners Porto. Just two years after that defeat he tasted victory though, and today he described the two occasions.

"The two finals were unique emotions, the best games that can be played and I have had the very different and exceptional luck to be on both sides. In 90 minutes you can lose it all or become king of the world," he explained.

"The first game against Porto, it went badly but later I made up for it by achieving victory in Paris."


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