Years ago, it was a young Lionel Messi who left his older teammates such as Ronaldinho and Xavi speechless, but who is the young FC Barcelona starlet that astonished the superstar in training? Introducing: Riqui Puig.
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Young Spanish midfielder, Puig, who many have dubbed the 'new Andres Iniesta', has been tipped to be one of the best La Masia graduates in recent times.
The 19-year-old has impressed heavily in Barca's youth teams, and after his senor team debut this week against Cultural Leonesa, his reputation grew even bigger.
Puig came off the bench in the Catalan club's 4-1 Copa del Rey win on Wednesday with 35 minutes left in the match, where he registered an assist, and a clever one at that, in his first appearance.
The starlet smartly lifted the ball over a defender's leg into the path of Denis Suarez, who took the ball into his stride before finding the back of the net.
Just look at this brilliant assist by RIQUI PUIG! The future is here. #ForçaBarça pic.twitter.com/4CD25hiPhy
— biyitoluwalase.Jesus (@BiyiToluwalase) December 6, 2018
In August, when Puig featured against AC Milan in a pre-season friendly, manager Gennaro Gattuso became an immediate fan of the player, labelling him "spectacular".
However, Gattuso is not Puig's only high-profile fan, with Xavi Hernandez also praising the youngster for the big strides he has taken in the club's academy.
Messi is also believed to be a big admirer of the talented midfielder, according to Spanish publication Sport. The report claims that the Argentine was keen to take Puig under his wing towards the end of last season when the player first started training with the senior team.
It is claimed that the captain was dumfounded by Puig's ability, along with Andres Iniesta and Luis Suarez.
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With Barca recently having struggled to hand youngsters opportunities in the first team, Puig's emergence as one of Europe's most exciting talents will undoubtedly be a massive boost to the club.
Are you excited to see what the future holds for Puig? Let us know in the comments section below.
