“I am very pleased with Riqui Puig’s performance.” The words of Ernesto Valverde after the young 18-year-old midfielder ran the show against AC Milan in the International Champions Cup, despite finishing on the losing side.
Opposite number Gennaro Gattuso was even more effusive in his praise: “Riqui is a spectacular footballer. Even though Barcelona have players that look like kids, they touch the ball with such beauty. I am a bit jealous of Barcelona’s model.”
High praise indeed.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise mind, given that Puig has been one of a handful of great hopes that Barcelona have for the future.
What he’s demonstrated on the club’s US tour, however, means he’s a genuine contender to take his place in the Barcelona first-team squad now.
Utterly fearless, as you might expect in one so young, his direct running has proved a real headache for defenders.
The best compliment that can be paid to the youngster is that in each game that he played he didn’t look out of place. In fact, he was far from that. He looked comfortable on the ball and had found his rightful place in Barca’s footballing hierarchy.
Certainly, the more established professionals at the club might be casting a beady eye over their shoulders now.
Registered with Barcelona B, Puig was in talks to join Tottenham Hotspur earlier this summer. Sensing that they were about to lose yet another starlet, the Catalans offered him a three-year professional contract with a €100 million buyout clause.
The north Londoners were then left to rue their bad luck after Puig handed them a master class in the first match of this US Tour.
From this point, the club need to tread carefully with the player to both nurture his talent but at the same time not put too much pressure on his shoulders.
Column inches are already being filled with news of ‘the boy with Barca DNA’ and one can sense that it’s only a matter of time before the comparisons to great players of the past begin surfacing.
A very well-liked member of the dressing room, Barcelona can at least be assured they have a well-rounded young man in their ranks, and one who is there simply to improve.
His craft is something that he takes incredibly seriously, and if he carries on progressing at the rate he has, he won’t have such a low buyout clause for very long.
