Barcelona Head Coach Ronald Koeman says he has nothing against Riqui Puig, despite their feud last month, when Koeman accused the midfielder of leaking information to the public.
Koeman is keen to move on from the December incident, which, according to El Pais, saw the manager call Puig 'a leak' in front of the entire Barcelona dressing room after it became public that Koeman told the 21-year-old to look for a new club.
Puig has been frozen out by Koeman this season, featuring in just six games in all competitions this season - all as a substitute.
He was brought on in the second half in Barcelona's 4-0 victory at Granada yesterday, which allowed the Koeman-Puig spat to re-surface after the match.
'I have nothing against Riqui Puig,' Koeman said when asked about the incident.
'We have very young players like Konrad (de la Fuente), Matheus (Fernandes) and Junior (Firpo) who don't have many minutes, but you always think I'm talking about Riqui.'
Koeman was clearly frustrated about being asked the question, but it's still unclear if Puig has a future at Barcelona.
Despite the club activating a clause in his contract to extend it until 2023, Koeman offered no guarantees.
'His future? He has to decide.'
josephjayjay
896
if you smile when Riqui Puig sub on yesterday night let me see you Forca Barca 💯
D10S_LM10
589
We want Puig to play more.. He never disappoint whenever he gets chance to play . That smile after coming on the field 🤩
lilleo24
509
well i say : a pedri,puig,de jong combination would be mad
wiaairtyz
443
Thank God,Koeman wasn't the coach when messi started with senior team,he would have threw the most talented player into the dustbin via his self centeredness .
erikson234
398
please try and give him some minutes pedri is good but i believe he is overworked you prefer pedri to puig because of his work of the ball but puig is a type of player that can up the tempo of a game puig and pedri cant play together because of the role de jong is playing thata why he is always starting busquets when ever we play a 433 busquets will be a holding midfielder so that dejong and pedri can play higher and dejong is a regular which leaves just one slot in the midfield and pedri, puig, couthinho, pjanic all want to play there
Teddymiles
309
Koeman have to give Puig a Chance in the game, he’s very talented with the ball ⚽️ on his leg 🦵, Good control
KingJerryTheGreat
203
Puig after hearing Koeman talk about him...
KingJerryTheGreat
153
Waiting for Koeman to get some senses and finally play Puig....