Ricard “Riqui” Puig Martí born 13 August 1999 is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Barcelona as a central midfielder.
Club career
Born in Matadepera, Barcelona, Catalonia, Puig joined FC Barcelona’s La Masia in 2013, from UFB Jàbac Terrassa. After progressing through the youth setup, he made his senior debut with the reserves on 24 February 2018, coming on as a second-half substitute for Marcus McGuane in a 1–1 home draw against Gimnàstic Tarragona for the Segunda División championship.
On 11 June 2018, Puig renewed his contract with Barça until 2021, and was promoted to the B-team in Segunda División B. He made his first team debut on 5 December, replacing fellow youth graduate Oriol Busquets in the 55th minute of a 4–1 home routing of Cultural Leonesa, for the season’s Copa del Rey; he also assisted Denis Suárez, who scored Barcelona’s fourth goal.
Puig made his La Liga debut on 13 April 2019, starting and playing 67 minutes in a 0–0 draw against Huesca. He scored his first goal for Barça B on 14 September, the second in a 2–2 home draw against AE Prat.
On 6 October 2020, Puig was promoted to the first team, being handed the number 12 jersey which was previously worn by Rafinha.
On 13 January 2021, Puig scored the winning penalty in the penalty shootout (Barcelona won 3–2) after being held at 1–1 at the end of extra time by Real Sociedad in the Supercopa de España semi-final. On 24 January, Puig scored his first goal for the first team in a 2–0 away win in La Liga against Elche, when he headed in Barcelona’s second goal from a Frenkie de Jong assist.
Personal life
Riqui Puig’s father, Carlos, was also a footballer. A left back, he spent his entire career representing Terrassa.
Career statistics
- As of 21 March 2021
| Club | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Barcelona B | 2017–18 | Segunda División | 3 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| 2018–19 | Segunda División B | 32 | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | ||||||
| 2019–20 | 21 | 2 | — | 21 | 2 | |||||||
| Total | 56 | 2 | — | 56 | 2 | |||||||
| Barcelona | 2018–19 | La Liga | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2019–20 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 1 | ||
| Total | 23 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 79 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 91 | 3 | ||
Honours
Barcelona
- La Liga: 2018–19
- UEFA Youth League: 2017–18