Marc Guiu Paz (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmark ˈgiw]; born 4 January 2006) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Chelsea.

Marc Guiu
Personal information
Full name Marc Guiu Paz[1]
Date of birth (2006-01-04) 4 January 2006 (age 18)
Place of birth Granollers, Spain[2]
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
Chelsea
Number 38
Youth career
2010–2013 PB Sant Celoni
2013–2023 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023–2024 Barcelona B 13 (4)
2023–2024 Barcelona 3 (1)
2024– Chelsea 1 (0)
International career
2022–2023 Spain U17 17 (10)
2024– Spain U19 7 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:40, 18 August 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 00:11, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Club career

Barcelona

Born in Granollers, Barcelona, Catalonia, Guiu began his career with Penya Barcelonista Sant Celoni, a fan club of La Liga side Barcelona.[3] He went on to join Barcelona themselves in the 2013–14 season, and progressed through the La Masia academy, and was called up to the senior squad for the first time in June 2023, ahead of pre-season matches against Celta de Vigo and Japanese opposition Vissel Kobe.[4] Guiu made his unofficial debut for Barcelona in the latter game, coming on as a half-time substitute for Robert Lewandowski.[5][6]

On 11 October 2023, he was again called up to the senior squad for a La Liga fixture against Granada, though he did not eventually feature in the game.[7] In the same month, he was named by English newspaper The Guardian as one of the best players born in 2006 worldwide.[8] On 22 October, Guiu made his senior competitive debut as a 79th-minute substitute, scoring the winning goal in 23 seconds with his second touch of a 1–0 victory over Athletic Bilbao.[9][10][11] At 17 years and 291 days of age, he became the youngest and fastest debutant to score for Barcelona in La Liga.[12][13][14]

Guiu made his Champions League debut three days later in a 2–1 win against Shakhtar Donetsk.[15] He scored his first goal in the competition and second of the season on 13 December in a 3–2 defeat against Royal Antwerp.[16][17]

Chelsea

On 1 July 2024, Guiu joined Premier League side Chelsea for a reported 6 million fee,[18] signing a five-year contract with the club.[18][19] On 18 August, he made his debut for the club, as a substitute, in a 2–0 loss against Manchester City in the league.[20]

International career

Guiu has represented Spain at Under 17 and Under 19 level.

In May 2023, he was called up by Spain U17 to compete in the 2023 UEFA European Under-17 Championship,[21] in which he became the competitions joint top scorer with four goals, alongside Paris Brunner, Robert Ramsak and teammate Lamine Yamal.[22] In November 2023, he represented Spain U17 in the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup,[23] when he scored two goals.[24][25]

Style of play

Barcelona youth coach Iván Carrasco describes Guiu as a "classic '9', a specialist in the area who exploits his physical power". He has been compared to Samuel Eto'o. He has a good high ball game, pace, strength and work-rate.[3] Spanish football expert Guillem Balagué described Guiu as a striker who is known to be "more efficient in the box".[26]

Career statistics

As of match played 7 November 2024[27]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barcelona Atlètic 2023–24 Primera Federación 13 4 4[c] 2 17 6
Barcelona 2023–24 La Liga 3 1 2 0 2[d] 1 0 0 7 2
Chelsea 2024–25 Premier League 1 0 0 0 1 0 5[e] 1 0 0 7 1
Career total 17 5 2 0 1 0 7 2 4 2 31 9
  1. ^ Includes Copa del Rey
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in Primera Federación play-offs
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Conference League

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ^ "2024/25 Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b Marc Guiu at WorldFootball.net
  3. ^ a b "Who is Barca's Marc Guiu? A goalscorer in the shadows". sport.es. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  4. ^ Cardero, Jordi (3 June 2023). "Xavi ya mira hacia el futuro: se lleva cuatro juveniles a Vigo" [Xavi is already looking to the future: he takes four youth players to Vigo]. relevo.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  5. ^ "The debutants against Vissel Kobe - one by one". fcbarcelona.com. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  6. ^ Gascón, Javier (8 October 2023). "Marc Guiu, el '9' que más gusta a Deco" [Marc Guiu, the '9' that Deco likes the most]. mundodeportivo.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  7. ^ "The FC Barcelona squad for the trip to Granada". fcbarcelona.com. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  8. ^ Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven; Blight, Garry (11 October 2023). "Next Generation 2023: 60 of the best young talents in world football". theguardian.com. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  9. ^ "FC Barcelona 1–0 Athletic Club: Dream debut seals three points". FC Barcelona. 22 October 2023.
  10. ^ Herrero, Laia Cervelló (23 October 2023). "Marc Guiu: Barcelona's 17-year-old match-winner transforms his world in 23 seconds". The Athletic. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  11. ^ Marsden, Sam; Llorens, Moises (23 October 2023). "Xavi: 'No fear in faces' of Barca teens like Guiu". ESPN. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Guiu, 17, gets winner 33 seconds into Barca debut". BBC Sport. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Marc Guiu: Veni, vidi, vici". FC Barcelona. 23 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  14. ^ Thomas, Joshua (23 October 2023). "Barcelona teenager Marc Guiu scores winning goal 30 seconds into debut against Athletic Club". Optus Sport. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  15. ^ "Marc Guiu, man of the moment". FC Barcelona. 30 October 2023.
  16. ^ "Héctor Fort makes first team debut". FC Barcelona. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  17. ^ Juan, Sergi de (16 December 2023). "Marc Guiu mete presión a Lewandowski". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  18. ^ a b Millar, Colin (1 July 2024). "Chelsea complete Guiu signing from Barcelona". The Athletic. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  19. ^ "Marc Guiu completes Chelsea transfer!". www.chelseafc.com. Chelsea F.C. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  20. ^ "Match report: Chelsea 0-2 Man City". 18 August 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  21. ^ "Convocatoria de la Sub-17 para el Europeo de Hungría". Real Federación Española de Fútbol (in Spanish). 4 May 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  22. ^ "2023 Under-17 EURO: Top scorers". UEFA.com. 2 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  23. ^ "OFICIAL | Lista de convocados de José Lana para el Mundial sub-17". Real Federación Española de Fútbol (in Spanish). 24 October 2023. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  24. ^ "Gran debut de España al ritmo de Guiu y Junyent (2-0)". Real Federación Española de Fútbol (in Spanish). 10 November 2023. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  25. ^ "CRÓNICA | España supera a Japón y ya espera rival en cuartos (2-1)". Real Federación Española de Fútbol (in Spanish). 20 November 2023. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  26. ^ "Guiu, 17, gets winner 33 seconds into Barca debut". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  27. ^ Marc Guiu at Soccerway
  28. ^ "2023 Under-17 EURO: Top scorers". UEFA.com. 2 June 2023.
  29. ^ "2023 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament". UEFA.com. 10 June 2023.