The Barcelona youngster is determined to succeed at Barcelona.
Barcelona’ success rate with their academy players has taken a tumble over the last five years or so. Aside from Ansu Fati, no other youngster has been able to stake a claim in the senior team.
Riqui Puig wants to buck that trend as he has made it known that he wants to stay at the Catalan club as he believes it’s the best place for him to succeed.
More from Everything Barca
- FC Barcelona tracking Belgian Wonderkid
- FC Barcelona vs Betis Player Ratings
- Barça boss Xavi to get contract extension
- FC Barcelona planning swoop for Arsenal midfielder
- Barcelona interested in €30 million wonderkid
According to Sport, Barcelona continue to receive plenty of offers from other clubs to acquire the midfielder on loan. But Puig has remained steadfast that he is not going anywhere.
Mundo Deportivo report that Real Betis are one of the clubs interested in him and believe manager Quique Setién is key in getting Puig to accept. The reason they would think that is in an interview, Setién said that none of the academy players had convinced him that they deserved more playing time.
Puig had an offer during the winter transfer window to leave but chose to stay. He played sparingly under Ernesto Valverde and while Setién arrived with the talk of playing the younger players, those words never materialized into actions.
What is clear is that Puig is too good to be playing for Barça B in Segunda B. He’s head and shoulders above the rest and the club is putting him in danger with every game he plays.
He’s been the recipient of tough tackles and nasty challenges with the concern that eventually one might injure him and leave him out for quite a while.
As far as the Betis rumors are concerned, it makes sense considering Carles Aleña is already there and it seems the two sides have a good relationship. Puig would certainly have more trust from the manager there.
But therein lies the problem. The sporting project has turned into casting aside homegrown players in favor of expensive signings that don’t pan out. The stoppage in football showed how fragile the club is financially. They need to be smarter in the transfer market and give their own players a shot.
For what it’s worth, Puig has never complained about not getting minutes in the first team. He goes about his business. It’s long past time that Barcelona reward that patience and start going back to their roots.