"Before the end of the [2021/22] season, we sat down and he [Xavi] told me that he wouldn't count on me next year," Riqui Puig has told Relevo.
"When I arrived at the training facilities, there was a problem – he didn't let me train at all in the first few weeks. I think that I when have a contract with a club, I have the right to train like any other player and they can't prohibit me this. That's what bothered me the most.
"There was a good relationship between my family and his [Xavi's] because they are from Terrassa [town near Barcelona]. The truth is that it hurts me the most as a player... and more as a friend who thought my family was close to Xavi's.
"In the end, I couldn't succeed with him. This sometimes happens. We are players, and sometimes we have to look for other paths, but it is true that not being able to train the first week of preseason, not being able to be active and not being able to find a way out... it bothered me a lot."
Riqui also noted that Joan Laporta wanted him to stay, so the decision to part ways with the midfielder was fully on the coaching staff – if Puig's words are true of course.
Xavi reportedly wasn't happy with the player's attitude and his defending during games. The midfielder left Barca for LA Galaxy as a free agent in August 2022.
Previously, Riqui Puig had problems with Ronald Koeman who also didn't give him enough game time.
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