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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Sam Frost

Barcelona flop who 'could have been like Andres Iniesta' aiming to outshine Gareth Bale

Riqui Puig Gareth Bale Galaxy Xavi Europe Andres Iniesta LA Galaxy Andrés Iniesta Cesc Fabregas Frenkie de Jong

From this side of the pond, the MLS is not the place to be for a player who graduated from the famed Barcelona academy and attracted credible comparisons to Andres Iniesta. But that is the gamble that Riqui Puig took, and it is paying off handsomely for the LA Galaxy midfielder.

Eleven games into his spell in a league often associated with players at the opposite end of their careers, the 23-year-old is shining in a resurgent Galaxy side that is back in the play-offs for the first time in three years.

Thursday night is his biggest stage since heading stateside. Galaxy are the underdogs in 'El Traffico', the MLS Western Conference semi-final against Gareth Bale, Georgio Chiellini and Carlos Vela's LAFC, with 16-goal MVP nominee Cristian Arango set to the line for the Western Conference winners at Banc of California Stadium.

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