After revealing to us how his miraculous knee recovery is going, both physically and emotionally, Gerard Deulofeu talks to Flashscore about his sporting career and the madness he feels for Lamine Yamal and Pedri, as well as his eternal gratitude to Udinese and the Pozzo family.
Read the first part of our interview with Deulofeu right here.
Flashscore: What do you think of the current Barcelona team?
Deulofeu: "They are a great team. I think it's a team spectacularly managed by Hansi Flick and by two football creators for the next 10-15 years at the highest level, Pedri and Lamine Yamal, who I'm crazy about. I think Barcelona, with both of them, will always be candidates to win the Champions League and LaLiga.
"Pedri and Lamine, with the rest of the players alongside them, are going to make that team fly. I have no doubt about it. A clear candidate for everything. And apart from that, they play so aggressively, such a forward line, such a creative attack. I love watching them."
Are they comparable to Johan Cruyff's Dream Team or Messi's?
"We'll see in time. It's difficult to tell you now, but they look very good. They have a good idea of play, very aggressive and very difficult for the opposition, but then you add the spectacular players they have... I tell the fans to be as enthusiastic as possible."
Lamine Yamal started to play more once Ousmane Dembele left for PSG. Imagine if it had happened to you in your time, Lionel Messi leaves, and suddenly there's a place for you...
"That's football, that's life, it depends a lot on details. Yes, Lamine had the option of being able to come in earlier because Barca were coming from a complicated period after Leo's departure. But if it hadn't been at Barca, he would have triumphed somewhere in the world.
"Because if you see his playmaking, how he understands the game, how he dominates the ball.... If it hadn't been at Barca, I think he would have shone in another important team."
What do you remember about your time at Barca?
"Very irregular, because I'm a demanding person. I know I was young, I needed adaptation and games, and on such a winning side like Barca, it was difficult to have regularity being so young with David Villa, with Alexis Sanchez, with Leo Messi, with Luis Suarez, with Neymar at some point.
"It wasn't so easy to get your head out of the door with the players that were there. I see my first stage of my career as irregular, but within it, I did very well at Everton, at Milan, and in a period at Sevilla with Unai Emery.
"I understand that there was a lot of expectation around me, and I accept that, and I think it could have been different on my part, but I also think I have had a spectacular career to date, playing very well in many teams.
"I'm happy for what I've done and I hope to come back, because at 31, I'm still young and I think I have a few more goals to give."
Are you grateful to Barca or a bit disappointed?
"Total gratitude because my training period was very nice and it has helped me to make a very important career. Then there are nuances that I could have been more patient after returning from Milan, being at Barca, and going to the national team.
"They could also have given me a longer contract. But the main focus is gratitude. And outside Barca, there is a way out. I have also reconverted my game from that right winger to a striker, a second striker, to adapt to the teams I was in. I'm happy with how it went."
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Scoring a goal at the new Camp Nou...
"Maybe in a Gamper (laughs). Because of my relationship with the Pozzo family and the way they are treating me in this difficult time for me, the only option I see is to return to play with them. So, if Udinese play the Gamper, we'll be there."
Enjoying the Premier League
From Barca to Everton, what was that period like?
"At Everton, I have two or three periods. The first, with Roberto Martinez, the first season in the Premier League, a spectacular memory; we were fifth. I played 30 games, making the difference. Then I went back to Barca with Tata Martino and then Luis Enrique. And I went to Sevilla.
"Then I went back to Everton, also with Roberto Martinez, paired with Romelu Lukaku, spectacular. I had a great time. And the third period was when Roberto left, when Koeman came in, and I didn't have the same feeling, and I went on loan to Milan, which was one of the best things that ever happened to me."
It was also nice to play at Goodison Park...
"Historic, Goodison Park, beautiful. I really want to go and see the new one, but I had a great time playing there in the old one. A relationship with the fans, a passion they have in England, unbelievable."
Do you like that type of football, high intensity, a lot of back and forth?
"It requires a lot of physicality, but I had a lot of fun in the transitions. I was a bit of a dove at that time (laughs), I didn't go down to defend so much. And of course, in the transitions I was cool and Lukaku and I were running... spectacular, yes, yes, yes."
At Watford, you were also good; it helped you to rediscover yourself?
"Yes, with Watford, also spectacular. I played as a centre forward, as a second striker, and I scored a lot of goals, understanding that position. We had two very good seasons in mid-table and the FA Cup final. I'm very happy with my time in the Premier League, both at Everton and Watford."
The pride of playing for AC Milan
Why does it mean so much to you to have been part of AC Milan?
"Because of their history. You set foot in the city of Milan on the first day, and they let you know what it is like to be a Milan player. It is the biggest club in Italy, the most historic. Going to play at the San Siro is spectacular.
"And I played very well. Imagine the beautiful memories I have. The affection of the fans, the connection with the fans - brutal. There are still people who send me messages; they were incredible months."
Would you have liked to stay there longer?
"I could have stayed and played in the number seven shirt at Milan and stayed there. But it wasn't up to me either. The owners, Berlusconi and Galliani, did want me, but then another owner came in and didn't consider the option."
It's a shame that the club has been a bit adrift these last few years, isn't it?
"Yes, and it hurts me a little bit to see it like this. I would like to see those players who really feel Milan, because I felt it for the months I was there. That Davide Calabria, that Sandro Tonali, I would like to see that in Milan. That dying for the shirt and knowing where they're playing.
"So, until they feel that, it's difficult to bring it back to where it belongs."
Nearby is the Como of Cesc Fabregas.
"I have a couple of friends, Alvaro (Morata), Sergi (Roberto), who play there. The football they play is spectacular, the idea of Cesc. I'm not in the dressing room, but it looks like a spectacle.
"They have very good players; they are strengthening very well. And they are a very difficult team to beat in Italy. I think they could be in the top 10 in Italy."
And where do you see Udinese?
"If we are consistent, I also see us in the top 10. Because we have a coach that I like a lot, he is very demanding. That is needed, because we are a team that varies a lot in buying and selling players, we have very young players coming in.
"You need that demand that Kosta (Runjaic) gives, I love it. If we are consistent and don't lose points to direct rivals, I think we can be in the top 10; that should be our goal."
You speak in the first person plural because you are still part of the team, even though you have resigned. Can you explain that?
"There are different media outlets that say otherwise, but the club's statement was very clear. We terminated the contract by mutual agreement, but I continue to rehabilitate myself and to be with my teammates, with my president, with my facilities.
"It's like a vote of confidence, of patience, from the president to me, saying, 'hey, we are waiting for you because you are part of us, we love you, and we believe you can come back'.
"But of course I speak in the first person and I speak of my teammates, of my president, because I live with them every day and I live Udinese, the victories and defeats as if they were my own. What I still feel is that I believe in coming back and with them."
It's good to meet the Pozzos, a family like this, now that football seems to be depersonalised, falling into the hands of investment funds.
"I know them very well. I have a spectacular relationship with each of them. I was with Gino at Watford, I continue with him here, with his father Gianpaolo, with Magda Pozzo. The relationship is spectacular.
"That's why I'm being given this opportunity, and they are waiting for me. I am grateful, and I hope to repay this trust with my return and dedicate it to my president."
Who are the people you will dedicate the first goal to when you score?
"My family, my president... they all know who have been by my side during this complicated period, so this will also be for them, but if we have to dedicate the goal, of course, to my family or my president, who has waited for me, yes."
What will you do in the future?
"Something related to football, either as a player finishing at a late age, because I think I have a lifestyle that can make me compete against young guys and in physical football now. Or helping young guys. I don't know if it's going to be coaching, staff member, right-hand man to the president, whatever, but helping kids.
"I would like to be on the field because that's what I live for. To be close to my teammates and experience the games the way I want to, which I miss."
You do some of that now at Udinese, don't you?
"Yes, for example, with Iker Bravo, a young player who reminds me a lot of me, with a lot of talent, but with a lot of room for improvement in other ways. I hope I can help him and make him enjoy his time in Udinese, so that he grows, and we'll see what his future holds."
What would you say to Gerard Deulofeu, who made his debut for Barca at the age of 17?
"A lot of things. First of all, that I understand that he is young, but I would also explain to him what can happen after the first four or five years of his career.
"You have to be sharp there because if you don't, maybe the train won't run again. You have to be smart and do things right from the first moment, when you have the biggest opportunity of all, which can be playing for Barcelona, Real Madrid, or any other big club."