LA Galaxy reach verbal agreement with Riqui Puig
The FC Barcelona youth product is set to join MLS’ most decorated team before the league’s registration period ends on 4 August.
FC Barcelona have been trying to part ways with Riqui Puig all summer long and they have informed him that they are considering extending his contract for one season to loan him out. It was reported that some Serie A sides were interested in signing the 22-year-old, but no formal offers were presented to Barcelona.
MLS could be Puig’s way out
It has been clear that Barça’s head coach, Xavi Hernández, will not be using Puig this season and he is in search of a team that guarantees him minutes to keep growing as a player. The latest proposal that Puig received was from the Los Angeles Galaxy and sources inside the MLS team have confirmed to us that all parties involved have reached a verbal agreement, and everything appears to be in place.
A deal has to be reached soon because the MLS registration period ends on 4 August and the expectation is that Puig will join the Galaxy on loan for the remainder of the 2022 campaign. The Barcelona youth product is a very dynamic player who looks for the ball constantly and could help the Galaxy have quicker transitions.
The relationship between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Barcelona grew when the MLS side tried to sign Sergi Roberto earlier this year. Since then, they have been in constant communication over players that don’t see a lot of minutes with the first team and that could add quality to the MLS side.
Former Barcelona academy player Víctor Vázquez has also helped influence Puig’s decision to play in MLS and his signing could be confirmed in the next few hours . The Galaxy are having a roller coaster of a season and suffered yet another setback over the weekend, losing 1-0 to FC Dallas. They have dropped to eighth place in the standings in the Western Conference, one spot shy of qualifying for the Playoffs, and they need to bounce back with 12 games left in the regular season.