Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman accuses Riqui Puig of exposing information to media – Reports

According to reports, Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman accused youngster Riqui Puig of exposing sensitive information to the media at the start of the season. The Spaniard was set for a loan move away from Camp Nou in the summer but ended up staying at the club.

Puig finished the 2019/20 season with 12 appearances and was expected to fight for a place in the Barcelona team. However, before the start of the season, Koeman informed the youngster that he would not be getting too many minutes in the first team and advised him to seek a loan deal away from the Camp Nou.

Koeman did not even include the youngster in the matchday squad for the Joan Gamper trophy, where Barcelona played Elche. Interestingly, the fact that Puig was surplus to requirements made its way to the media, which infuriated Koeman. The Dutchman reportedly confronted the youngster in front of the entire dressing room ahead of the game Joan Gamper trophy and accused him of leaking the information to the media.

Koeman wants to remove harmful behavior from the Barcelona squad

The Barcelona manager has been attempting to eliminate damaging behavior from the dressing room since taking charge in the summer. That is a stark contrast from Ernesto Valverde’s leniency, as the Spaniard was known to turn a blind eye towards disciplinary issues for the sake of the team.

Koeman though was determined to inflict a sense of order in the dressing room before the start of the season and proceeded to evict a few of the older players he thought were harming the culture at Barcelona. As a result, Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, and Arturo Vidal were all shown the door. The Dutchman was also not impressed by the leak of his confidential conversation with Puig and minced no words while letting his feelings known.

⚠️ | QUICK STATAfter his fine performance vs Juve, Riqui Puig now averages exactly 2 key passes p/90' for Barcelona in 2020 - only Lionel Messi (2.81) averages more.Considering he played only 17% of available minutes this year, is he the solution to some of their problems? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/dBFvfNgjOo

— SofaScore (@SofaScoreINT) December 9, 2020

His confrontation resulted in a mixed reaction from the Barcelona squad. While few players were happy that Koeman was trying to cleanse the squad, not all players were convinced by his approach. This was because the fact that the Dutchman used a phone call to inform Suarez that he was no longer required was also widely reported in the media.

🎤 Víctor Font: “Xavi told me that if he was the coach of FC Barcelona, Riqui Puig would be a starter.” pic.twitter.com/f1cZGnGQip

— RiquiXtra 🍿 (@RiquiXtra) December 11, 2020

The Barcelona squad are also losing their patience with Koeman’s 4-2-3-1 formation. After back to back defeats against Juventus and Cadiz, the players apparently informed the Dutchman that they want to revert to the 4-3-3.

Koeman, however, continues to publicly claim that he retains the support of the Barcelona dressing room.