The LA Galaxy midfielder spoke about his Barça past and his adaptation to MLS
The man from Matadepera confessed that he recommended his signing to Barça to Julián Araújo
Riqui Puig He is a happy man in Los Angeles. His departure in the summer towards the MLS was the end point for the ‘eternal promise’ of La Masía. The one from Matadepera now faces a new season, and Saturday begins, this time from scratch, the course with the LA Galaxy led by Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernández. In an interview with ‘EFE’ he assured that he was ‘happy and motivated’ to face this new challenge.
The former Barcelona player was crucial in the takeoff in 2022 of the Galaxy, who lost only two games out of twelve already with Puig in the engine room. Regarding his adaptation to a new life in the United States, the young midfielder confessed to being very calm. “Now that I’ve been in a house since January I’m very comfortable. At the moment I don’t miss Barcelona, which is saying a lot… And every month my parents, my girlfriend or my brothers come to visit me. The truth is that now I am very happy myself”.
Julian Araujo, who was a teammate of Riqui Puig in the LA Galaxy, took the opposite path than the ex-Barcelona player after exchanging Los Angeles for Barcelona. The Mexican side signed until 2026 with the Catalan team after two weeks of uncertainty. “I told him: ‘I think you don’t have to think about it: you have to go yes or yes’. It is an experience for him to grow as a player and he is one of the best clubs in Europe. I don’t even talk about the city anymore because it’s a perfect city,” Riqui confessed.
The 21-year-old Mexican will join the disciplines of Barça Atlètic with the hope of being a good resource for the first team. “Araújo is a player who can give Barcleona a lot. He goes into space a lot, has a lot of depth and, as Barcelona plays with very deep full-backs, it can come in very handy”pointed out Riqui.
Asked about the future of Barça seen from outside, the 23-year-old He was very optimistic about Xavi’s project. He said that he does not lose any game. “I think Barcelona is playing very well this year. The numbers say so. They’ve scored 7 goals in 22 league games. It’s brutal. It’s what Barcelona needed, to improve in that aspect, because offensively they always score goals and creates many opportunities. I think that this year Barcelona can do very big things”.
The North American competition will start this coming weekend, with Riqui Puig’s team as one of the contenders for the title. “Winning the MLS is the main objective for the group and also for me. I come from a winning club and I don’t see anything other than winning. When we have spaces and we play what we want, I think we are one of the strongest teams in MLS,” he said.