FC Barcelona have come under criticism for the treatment of some of their players this summer, whom many have surmised the club is forcing to quit. The club’s academy graduate Riqui Puig has attacked his former club for the same.
Fans and experts have lambasted FC Barcelona on how they have handled departures and the proposed departures of some of their players. Frenkie de Jong’s being the most prominent case, the club has, as per many, used backhanded techniques to get the salaries of some of its underutilized stars and high earners off its books.
Puig left Barcelona earlier in August to sign for Major League Soccer side Los Angeles Galaxy. Once regarded highly within the club, the 23-year-old never held down a starting position and refused to leave the club on loan in the hopes of doing so given the opportunity.
Speaking to AS, the midfielder joined the masses in criticizing his former club, claiming that they do indeed put pressure on those who are undesired anymore to leave.
Reliving the situation earlier this summer, when he, Neto, Moussa Wague, Oscar Mingueza, and Samuel Umtiti were told to train alone by Barcelona, Puig claims that the behavior of his former employers hurt him.
“Perhaps I understand the club’s position, they want to put pressure on players to leave, but there are other ways to do it. It was really difficult being in Barcelona, training alone, with four other teammates who were also there with me,”
the Spaniard.
“After seven years at the club, being in Barcelona when all my teammates are in Los Angeles playing matches, well, the truth is that it hurt me a lot. It’s a difficult situation and sometimes you have to make decisions and they have made this decision but I don’t agree with it.”
All five of the players who the club left home during their tour of the United States of America have since left the club – or in the case of Umtiti, are in the process of doing so.
Barcelona are also hoping to get more players off their books before the end of the transfer window, including de Jong, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Memphis Depay.
