Xavi didn’t let me train with the team, he didn’t treat me well at all, former Barcelona player Puig understands

Riqui Puiq was supposed to be the future of Barcelona, another pearl of the La Masia academy. However, he never really made his mark in the A-team and when Xavi made it clear he didn’t want him in the team, he chose to leave for Los Angeles last summer.

Puiq made his debut for Barcelona in the 2018/19 season as an 18-year-old. He was considered one of the biggest talents in the youth and was supposed to be the future of Barcelona.

That’s why he started to get more space after that. He managed 11 La Liga games in the 2019/20 season, 14 a year later and even 15 in the 2021/22 season. In total, he scored 2 goals and notched two assists.

It’s just that in the vast majority of those games, Puiq came on as a substitute for the last few minutes. And when Xavi came in, the chance to settle in the A-team for the 23-year-old midfielder ended completely.

“Before the season was over, he told me he didn’t want me. With Laporta (club president) it was different, he always told me I was the future of the club, to stay. But I couldn’t stay at a club where the coach didn’t want me. Xavi didn’t treat me well at all, the first weeks in training he didn’t let me train with the team. But if I have a valid contract, he can’t forbid me to train and that’s what annoyed me the most,” Puiq said in an interview with the daily MARCA.

It was after being banned from training with the team that Puiq decided to leave Catalonia and chose the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS as his next destination.

“I’ve been here for a year. The city is beautiful, the football is completely different. I’m very happy here, they take great care of me. I came here mainly to gain confidence and to play regularly and I’m getting that. In Barcelona I was a little bit frustrated with things outside football, here I am very happy,” says the 23-year-old midfielder.

In the last MLS season, Puiq played in 12 games with a 3+5 record, in the current one he has played 21 games, scoring 3 goals and assisting 7 more. He also scored once in the US Open Cup.

Source: MARCA