Xavi ruthlessly axes Riqui Puig after leaked criticism of Barcelona teammate

Barcelona have confirmed the sale of midfielder Riqui Puig to MLS club LA Galaxy after leaked footage came to light of him criticising a club teammate.

Puig started just two La Liga matches under boss Xavi Hernandez and only ever started 11 league games across his career at the club, despite enjoying a great deal of hype from the club's fanbase following his exciting youth career.

The central midfielder made 57 first-team appearances after joining the club in 2013, aged 14, with the Catalan giants retaining a repurchase option for the player and also entitling themselves to 50 percent of any future sale.

The sale of Puig to the United States club comes in the same week that a podcast focused on Barcelona gossip, named Dongcast, publicised some audio recordings of the midfielder in which he could be heard making critical comments of Ferran Torres - who joined Barca in January from Manchester City.

Puig can be heard stating of the new Blaugrana arrival: "(Man City boss Pep) Guardiola did not want Ferran Torres, last year he only played twelve games!"

In addition to talking about Ferran Torres, Puig also claimed in the conversation - which was not intended to be made public - that he previously had offers from Chelsea and Milan, but that he preferred to stay in Barcelona: "Well, those offers were very good, those teams pay you double (what he earns at Barcelona), but in the end you are there alone."

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The Catalan player also shared his thoughts over the departure of Lionel Messi last year. Riqui Puig explained that he understands the Argentine's intentions of leaving Barca "because after all he had been at the club since he was 14 years old."

Former Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas recently compared to Puig to former Blaugrana midfield maestro Andres Iniesta, when he said on Catalan radio station RAC1: "Riqui can become like Iniesta, for example, if coaches trust him. I know that comparing him with Andres are big words but such a player could cost a fortune on today's market. I'm sure Riqui has what it takes to succeed, he just has to have the right attitude and keep improving."

That attitude has come under question however, with Xavi's predecessor Ronald Koeman taking a public dig at his application following a prolonged spell out of the lineup. "I like people who work every day to improve, and who take opportunities with both hands. Sometimes it's not just about quality," Koeman explained at the end of 2020. "There may be players who don't do enough in training for the coach to give opportunities."