Riqui Puig is ready to begin his time in LA: Recapping his introductory press conference

Spanish midfielder Riqui Puig was officially introduced by the LA Galaxy at Wednesday's media availability. 

The ex-Barcelona player signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the club, through the end of the 2025 MLS regular season, using Targeted Allocation Money (TAM). The 23-year-old was introduced to the home fans before Saturday’s game against Vancouver.  On Tuesday evening, the club announced Puig will be available for selection for Friday’s match against Seattle Sounders FC after receiving his P1 Visa.

“I couldn't imagine that this club was reaching out to me. There is a great support of fans, when I arrived at the airport, they welcomed me with open arms,” said Puig.

By getting his Visa, the Spaniard was able to train with the team for the first time today. “I’m very impressed with the level of play very impressed with the competition, a very high competition level,” he said. “With Gaston’s [Brugman] arrival, he also brings that high quality of play. At training. I'm very comfortable with him and I think Greg" — referring to LA Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney —  "has a philosophy very similar to Barcelona, we need the ball and I think we are good team with the ball.”

How he'll be utilized

During the presser, Vanney outlined how he will use the 23-year-old in his tactical setup. “Riqui will play in the midfield and for us, he’ll be an attacking midfielder, whether that's in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1. It'll be relatively close to the striker, “ he noted. “I want [Puig] to be himself to do the things that he's done as he continues to grow. We feel we can provide him with opportunity and growth to be really the guy who has some solutions for us and the final actions to help us to see the final pass to make movements through the backline to bid to be the attacking portion of our midfield.”

Vanney utilizes a system where he wants his team to play in the opposition's half and be able to break down teams and exploit spaces by wingers or a striker making a run in the box. Vanney said, “We want the ball to be moving fast and we want to be getting in and out of spaces, and as Riqui said we want to have possession. So for me, he has the philosophy he has the tools to add a whole other level to where we're at as a team but also into our attack so we're excited to have him on board.”

The club’s main priority this window was to bring in a defensive midfielder — satisfied by Gaston Brugman's signing — but kept the door open on a potential attacking midfielder. 

“We have been in the conversations internally and externally about the opportunity to bring in an attacking midfielder from a timeline perspective and getting the guy or that you want some of those things just have to come together at the right time,” Vanney noted. The club began the process of acquiring Riqui Puig from Barcelona and offloaded Rayan Raveloson along the way. 

“There's different layers of this that all had to come together at the right time to make this opportunity possible," Vanney explained. "And on the list of which is the young man to my right, wanting and desiring this as a location for him to continue his career.”

To get a player like Puig to MLS is one of the most monumental transfers in league history, something Vanney acknowledges.

“I’ve been around the league for a long time since the beginning and for me, it's arguably one of the most significant signings in the history of the league to have young player of this quality come from the environment that he's been in, the club that he was at where he is already having success," he noted. "To choose the Galaxy and to choose Major League Soccer as a location to continue to grow his career, to feel like this is a place that he can trust with that is immensely humbling for us but also it's huge recognition for the league that he sees that as a place for his career.

“It's a dynamic that we wanted to have at this club," he added, "to have young players see MLS and see the LA Galaxy as a place they can come and continue to build to their career and make the right time and the right move back to Europe and be more successful than they were before.”

'This is a league for young players'

Puig had a couple of days to make this decision and was on board with the Galaxy’s plans. 

“Galaxy offered everything to me possible," Puig noted. "They acknowledged that this was a project that was going to be catered around me to my liking, and no doubt I'm happy to be here. I'm happy to be with this club. I'm happy to be with the city and I'm just happy to be part of this organization." 

“This is a league for young players, and trust me, in the coming years, you're going to see more young players coming to this league. I think I'm here because there's a lot of competition. I enjoy this about the club is that there's competition, whether you play or not. That's what's always in question for the club, and I'm really hopeful that I can play on Friday.”

Although his time living in Barcelona is over for now, Puig has a La Masia graduate to talk to on the roster in Victor Vazquez. The 35-year-old started his career in Barcelona like Puig and eventually made the move to MLS from Europe in 2017. 

“[Vazquez] was actually telling me where to live, where the great zones are for young players as myself," Puig said. "Again, he was part of Barcelona so we know that relationship. He also told me that obviously it was a long trip and the time differences and he's actually embraced me at his son, so I really am really thankful for Victor and this relationship.”

The team's captain, Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez, has also given Puig a warm welcome to the club. “[Chicharito] is a tremendous player. He is a player that has played in various clubs in Europe. I take actual pride that I'm able to able to learn from him and he's actually been one of those players that has welcomed me and embraced me inside and outside the locker room and I'm really thankful that I have him as a teammate," he said.

Puig stated he has the company of his family during this transition from Barcelona to the City of Angels. “I'm far away from Barcelona. I'm only 22 years old. At one point I might be homesick but I'm very thankful for my family. They're currently helping me find a house. They're helping me set up a bank account and a cell phone,” he stated.

As the MLS regular season comes to a close, Puig is ready to deal with the pressure to perform on the pitch. 

“I understand that there's 10 games left and right we're going to look at these 10 games that we have to win each and every one of them," said the Spaniard. "Obviously in this sport, there's always that pressure to do better to win and I actually feel better and play better when I have that pressure, not only from my teammates but from the fans. And I am welcoming to those demands from the fans.”