Now that Puig is gone, no one will be able to criticize his talent. The class is there. Competing at Barça is expensive, not everyone manages to get a place there. It would be too simple to focus criticism on the image that the young man projects on the networks. Like so many young people, he projects the image he wants people to have of him, that of someone who lacks nothing. It wouldn’t be anything serious if it weren’t for the fact that Barcelona fans expected so much from his game that once the expectations have not been met, the game has turned. If he was playing starter at a very high level, many people who now criticize him for doing a dance or showing off an expensive car would laugh at him thanks. It happened with Pique. Because he has played well, for years he has taken for granted a lifestyle that would have been criticized if he had played poorly.
The key is not what you do when you go on vacation. The key is not if you have blankets with your name engraved on them in a towel set. The key is if you take advantage of the great opportunity of your life. And Riqui Puig has not done it. Something is not right, when the coaches are parading around and they all do the same thing: little by little they corner you. Not even Xavi, who has known him for a long time, has decided to defend his cause. Riqui Puig has been wasting the opportunity to succeed at Barça in training, in joking, in the sleepy eyes early in the morning in training. And it’s a shame, because he has talent. When he played well, everyone got excited. His case shows that football requires the ability to make sacrifices and know how to make the right decisions. Maybe it would have been better to accept a transfer earlier, who knows. Perhaps he was so confident in his touch that he forgot to work as hard as more limited players like Braithwaite or Luuk de Jong, who have reached the same place as him.
He will now leave for the United States. It would be a mistake to say that his career is over. It is a league that is improving and attracting more and more young Europeans. With a style of play that can suit him well. If he knows how to learn from his mistakes, we’ll talk about Riqui Puig again. No longer like the future Xavi or Iniesta, but like a great footballer. It will depend on how he understands the American adventure.
