One more: this player joins a long list of footballers who radically changed their profession. Gerard Deulofeu, a renowned Spanish forward, was forced to leave the field due to a knee injury. Although Gerard is 30 years old, he has not played for months and does not rule out his retirement from professional football.
In the event that his retirement becomes official, the footballer could calmly say that he had a short, but important career: he left Barcelona, he was a teammate of Lionel Messi and played in the Premier League and Serie A.
What was Gerard Deulofeu’s football career like?
The man born in Riudarenas started his career at the age of 9 in the quarries of Barcelona, a club where he stood out in all categories. In the Culé team, Deoulofeu was progressively promoted in categoryuntil after a great 2011-2012 season at Barcelona B, Blaugrana’s subsidiary team, the renowned Pep Guardiola He was summoned to be part of the first team. His official debut was in a match against Mallorca on October 29, 2011 at the Camp Nou, when he was 17 years old.
Despite showing himself as a boy with conditions, Gerard could not establish himself in Barcelona’s first team and his path began to turn to other clubs in search of minutes. From 2013 to 2015, The Catalonia team loaned him to Everton and the Sevilleuntil the English club decided to take ownership of his token for a sum of 6 million Euros.
He played two seasons at Everton, which included 75 games and 8 goals in all competitions. Almost at the end of his contract with the English club, Gerard was loaned to one of the biggest teams in Serie A: AC Milan. In Italy he did not have much luck, and the club that owned his record in 2018 sold the player to the team where he started this whole story: Barcelona.
As happened in his first cycle at the Catalan club, the striker had a hard time finding a place in the first team and was again loaned to another Premier League club: WatfordEdit. On June 11, 2018, after 6 months of loan, the English club decided to buy the player’s record for the incredible sum of 13 million euros, making a strong bet on the Spanish forward.
He played for Watford until 2020, the year when the club was relegated to the second category of English football. This is where it seemed that Deulofeu found his place in the world: after the relegation with Watford, the Udinese from Italy bought his token, signing him a contract until 2024 (which would later be extended until 2026). Everything was going well until…
Why Gerard Delofeu stopped playing
Already at Udinese, and after playing 2 seasons, on January 23, 2023 The striker seriously injured his knee, which has left him without playing since then. Despite having had surgery, until today Deulofeu He couldn’t step on the court anymore. soccer. In the Italian club he had played 68 games and scored 18 goals.
This is why the Spanish forward continues to struggle with his injury, but not having much success does not rule out a premature retirement. Although Deulofeu is not playing, his knee was not an excuse that prevented him from reinventing himself and seeking stability in other horizons.
Deoulofeu injury
Gerard Delofeu’s new life as a gastronomic entrepreneur
Gerard Deulofeu has taken a strategic turn in his career by consolidating himself as a businessman amid the uncertainties about his future on the football fields. The forward joined the Board of Directors of Fast Good SLparent company of the successful restaurant chain Naked & Sated.
Deulofeu, who was already participating as an investor in this project, now assumes a more active role by being part of the Board of Directors. This decision brought him even closer to the management and direction of the society dedicated to hospitality and gastronomy, sharing this path with other prominent players such as Marcos Llorente, Ibai Gomez and Bojan Krki. His appointment as a director of Fast Good SL represents a firm step in the diversification of its activities outside the sports field.
The structure of Naked & Sated stands out for the active participation of its members in the Board of Directors, where Deulofeu plays a key role in controlling and making business decisions. With a network of seven restaurants and a bakery in various cities in Spain, the company seeks to offer a gastronomic proposal based on fresh, seasonal and environmentally friendly foods.
Gerard Deulofeu’s foray into the business world as a director of Fast Good SL represents an example of the ability of athletes to transcend beyond their disciplines. Despite having been a teammate of Messi and having years to play football, Gerard’s commitment to development and business management reflects a strategic vision towards the future, consolidating his position as a prominent entrepreneur in the field of gastronomy and hospitality.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
