“It hurt me a lot”- Riqui Puig blames Xavi Hernandez and management after exit from Barcelona
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Barcelona graduate Riqui Puig has broken out about his former manager Xavi Hernandez and also about the club’s treatment of some players. He went on to complain about how things have changed since the arrival of Xavi and that he has just started two La Liga matches under him and only 11 league games across his career at the club.
Puig received great love and hype from the Barca fans after his exciting academy career but had to settle for a move away from the club due to no playtime. He has recently been bought by MLS side LA Galaxy and looks to shine yet again and help his team achieve great boundaries in the league.
Puig had made 57 first-team appearances for both Barcelona’s senior and junior teams having joined the club way back in 2013 when he was just 14. He had recently had an interview with Fox stating about the club’s treatment of him and also the way the club asked De Jong to reduce his salary by half or look for a different club.
Ex-Barcelona player Gary Lineker has also slammed the club for treating De Jong “like a piece of meat”. Puig made his debut for his new club, LA Galaxy, in a 3-3 draw against the Seattle Sounders. He also told Fox, “The truth is that it has been a pretty hard few months because I had never seen the club leave players in Barcelona and not let them go on tour with them.”
Riqui Puig had to train alone while his teammates were playing in Los Angeles
He also added “Maybe I am misunderstanding the situation of the club and that they want to pressure the players to leave, but it should have been done in another way. The truth is that it was painful to be in Barcelona training alone with four teammates who were also with me.”
He continued, “Yes, huge disappointment. And even more so after seven years at the club. This is a coach who has also been at the club for a long time. Being here in Barcelona while all my teammates were in Los Angeles playing games, it hurt me a lot. It was a very complicated situation, sometimes you have to make decisions. I don’t share the thoughts of the club.”
Ronald Koeman also took the chance to speak about Xavi’s way of managing saying, “I like people who work every day to improve, and who take opportunities with both hands. Sometimes it’s not just about quality. There may be players who don’t do enough in training for the coach to give opportunities.”
Former Barcelona player Cesc Fabregas was full of praise of Puig and compared him to the club legend Andres Iniesta saying, “Riqui can become like Iniesta, for example, if coaches trust him. I know that comparing him with Andres is a big word but such a player could cost a fortune in today’s market. I’m sure Riqui has what it takes to succeed, he just has to have the right attitude and keep improving.”
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