Riqui Puig, the loneliness of the last disappointment of La Masia

Tired of football and probably of everything, Gareth Bale (Cardiff, 33 years old) changed the Santiago Bernabéu for Los Angeles.

Lionel Messi (Rosario, 35 years old) dreams of finishing his career in Miami.

And Sergio Busquets (Sabadell, 34 years old) ponders what his future will be like in MLS.

In the land where the big stars turn off his football, Riqui Puig (Barcelona, ​​22 years old) begins to light up his future in the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Without Xavi's confidence or the interest of European teams, the last illusion of the quarry consumed his stage at the Camp Nou as everything is consumed in modern times: at the speed of a reel.

In the complex balances of the first team, the homegrown players have always been looked at with greater condescension.

Above all, in times when the dressing room is led by seasoned footballers at La Masia.

He passed, for example, in the stage of Ernesto Valverde at the helm of Barça.

In Txingurri's last full season, 2018-2019, the Barça captains were Messi, Busquets, Sergi Roberto and Piqué.

In that campaign, Miranda, Chumi, Cuenca, Collado, Ruiz, Carles Pérez, Ansu Fati and Riqui Puig climbed to the first team.

The difference between Fati and Puig's landing was striking.

While the Hispano-Guinean was embraced by the dressing room (beyond some bad face from Messi), the Catalan was looked at with suspicion (beyond all the good faces from Piqué).

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"Ansu comes dressed in club clothes and Riqui in Gucci," recalls a club employee.

Clothing, as a symbol of attitude.

"Of course Ansu also has branded clothing, but he preferred not to attract attention," they explain from the environment of the international with Spain.

Riqui Puig, who arrived at the Camp Nou dressing room with the posh label, coined as the protector of style and protected by a certain sector of the press, was choked by the first team dressing room.

It was not a new situation for the youth squad.

His stage at Barça B had not been a harvest of great friendships either.

In his first year in the subsidiary they warned him: "The numbers are chosen by seniority".

Riqui replied: “

”.

The 10 was kept by Carles Pérez.

The following year, same story.

But the star shirt was taken by Collado.

"In the subsidiary he was never a leader," they explain at the Ciudad Deportiva.

He did not count on the complicity of his colleagues or the affection of the staff.

In fact, due to his fine timbre of voice, they had baptized him as Benito Bodoque after the character of Don Gato.

At Barça B, the fights between Riqui Puig and Collado on the pitch were famous (during a match a referee warned them that he was going to expel them both), as well as the anger of the rivals with Puig.

"How much do you earn?" He used to ask them.

"You'll see when you come to our stadium," they replied.

Riqui, always kind to the press in the mixed zone, complained about the treatment: "They give me a lot of kicks", assured the youth squad, who began his career as a professional in Second B.

At La Masia, Riqui Puig did not stand out until he played for Juvenil A. "Then, the physicist began to accompany him," explains a youth football coach.

He never stood out as much as in the Youth League that Barça conquered in 2018. His time at Barça B was inconsistent.

"He understands the game like few others and with his physique he looks for life quite well", recognized García Pimienta, then coach of the Barça subsidiary.

In the eyes of the fans, Riqui seemed tailor-made to dress as a Barça player;

however, the coaches began to perceive certain deficiencies in his game: "He loses a lot of balls."

His statistics did not improve in the first team.

He has played 57 games (15 starts) and has lost an average of 4.5 balls per game.

“A modern footballer is much more than three tricks and a good pass per game.

Only Messi can be accepted not to commit defensively, ”says a member of the technical secretary.

Valverde did not bet on Riqui, nor did Koeman.

Quique Setién threatened to protect him and Xavi said enough.

The technician who could understand it the most was the one who understood it the least.

His resume took him away from European football.

Today he finds accommodation in the United States.

No one will judge him anymore by his clothes or by the timbre of his voice.

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