A "hurt" ex-FC Barcelona star has now slammed his former manager Xavi Hernandez over his departure from the club.
Several players have endured rather acrimonious exits from the Camp Nou in recent seasons, with even the club's all-time top goalscorer Lionel Messi essentially being forced out of the club due to their poor financial situation.
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Brazilian midfielder Matheus Fernandes' contract was terminated in hostile circumstances, resulting in the player later suing the club over unfair dismissal, while Emerson Royal was moved on having barely played for the team, having been bought in July 2021 and then sold in August, little more than a month later.
Some of those who have left the side in recent times have since ended up in the US, with Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba joining Messi at Inter Miami following the Argentine's two-year spell at Paris Saint-Germain.
However, before that, ex-Blaugrana midfielder Riqui Puig made the move to Major League Soccer, with the 23-year-old joining LA Galaxy in August 2022 after leaving the Catalan giants.
The Spaniard has now lifted the lid on the manner in which he parted ways with the club, laying the blame on current manager Xavi.
"Before the end of the season, we sat down and he [Xavi] told me that next year he didn't count on me," Puig said, according to Barca Blaugranes.
"I believe I was not treated fairly when I came back to training in pre-season last summer, when the club did not let me train with them.
"I think that if I still have a contract with the club, I should be able to act like that and they can't tell me not to train with them.
"That's what really annoyed me during my last years there. As soon as this happened, I tried to look for my way out pretty quickly. I had the LA Galaxy option quite advanced and I wanted to move abroad, change my life and go to the other side of the world."
"... Xavi called me and my family two times in the past to try to convince us into moving to Qatar when he was there.
"There was a close relationship between his parents and my family, we are both from the same city in Catalonia, Terrassa.
"To be honest, that's what hurts me the most as a footballer but also as a friend, that we believed we were with Xavi's family.
"In the end I couldn't succeed in Barcelona, it can happen and it was my turn to look for other options in football.
"But the fact of not being allowed to train with the team during the first weeks of pre-season angered me a lot."
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