Former FC Barcelona player Riqui Puig leads LA Galaxy to MLS Team of the Week

The former Barcelona star dazzled in the latest round of the competition, showcasing a remarkable statistic. Riqui Puig, the long-time Barcelona prospect, resigned himself to leaving the club he cherished due to a lack of opportunities.

Although he was still in his early twenties and had already accumulated a fair number of appearances with the senior team at the Blaugrana, he had several options to continue his career in Europe.

His experience with Los Angeles Galaxy, a club with which he extended his contract until 2027, wasn’t always smooth sailing. However, the franchise is regaining its former glory, now leading the Western Conference of MLS with a record of 55 points, just behind their Eastern Conference counterpart, Inter Miami, which has 62. After playing 29 matches, his team has accumulated 16 wins, seven draws, and six losses.

Part of the credit for the team's resurgence goes directly to the Catalan midfielder, who shone brightly in the derby on Sunday against Los Angeles FC (4-2).

Riqui Puig leads LA Galaxy to MLS Team of the Week

His impressive performance, including a goal and two assists, was crucial in earning him an outstanding rating of 9.5 according to Flashscore. Despite the visitors leading 2-0 at halftime, they ended up without a reward.

Riqui has been involved in 21 goals this season (10 goals and 11 assists), which are unprecedented figures for him (7 goals and 7 assists last season). However, he still has room for improvement in terms of yellow cards, having already accumulated eight this season, the same number as the entire previous season, a rather high count for an attacking player.

It seems likely that his short- and medium-term future will remain tied to the United States, especially given his recent contract extension.

Puig is happy in Los Angeles and now sees the possibility of winning a title closer than ever. He hasn’t celebrated such a significant achievement since mid-2021, when Koeman’s Barca clinched the Copa del Rey final (4-0 against Athletic Club de Bilbao, with Messi scoring twice).