Riqui Puig’s move from Barcelona to Benfica placed in doubt

It appears that Riqui Puig has accepted that he might have to leave Barcelona in order to progress his career.

Th central midfielder was a source of great excitement when breaking through into the first team but since those initial minutes, has struggled to earn opportunities at Barcelona.

Xavi Hernandez follows Ronald Koeman in not trusting him in the starting line-up. Recent reports had linked Puig with a move to Benfica, thought to be his preferred destination this summer. Manager Roger Schmidt, recently installed at the Estadio da Luz, tried to sign Puig while at PSV in 2020.

However Mundo Deportivo carried a report on Saturday morning from Portuguese paper Record which stated that Benfica’s interest in Riqui Puig ‘did not correspond to reality’.

This will be a blow to Barcelona, who are keen to move him on one way or another in order to free up space in their salary limits. It’s worth remembering that Pablo Torre, 18, is also arriving at Barcelona this summer, who will likely be given some minutes this season and further up the competition for places at Camp Nou.