Joan Laporta has refuted reports he puts pressure on Ronald Koeman to play midfielder Riqui Puig.
Puig is still only 22 years of age and he made 14 La Liga appearances last season, though he is yet to feature in this campaign.
The midfielder was touted to leave Camp Nou in the summer, not part of Koeman‘s plans for the coming campaign.
But Puig stayed, and that has led to some fans suggesting Laporta is such a big fan of the youngster that he has put pressure on Koeman to keep and play him.
But that’s nonsense according to the Barcelona president, who said on Monday, as cited by Diario AS: “I have never said he has to play.
“I may have said I like him, like I like Collado, but I will never pressure my coach.
“I ask the coach ‘how is this one’ or ‘how is another one’. I don’t want to lose a homegrown talent.”
Laporta may not have given an awful lot of reason of late to take all he says as truth across the whole Super League and then Messi sagas, but it’s no surprise that the chatter of him having an influence on Puig’s game time is rubbish.
Puig is at the age where he could be playing every week for Barcelona, but he still only made 14 La Liga appearances last season and 24 appearances in all.
Even after Laporta arrived, Puig started just two La Liga games, and that should be proof enough that it’s totally down to Koeman who plays and who does not.