Carles Puyolformer captain of Barcelona, referred to the public statements of midfielder Ilkay Gundogan in which he questioned the foul that his teammate Ronald Araújo made and that it cost him his expulsion in the Champions League quarter-final match against PSG, and he considered himself in favor of “The things that need to be talked about should be talked about in the locker room.”
“Everyone is free to say what they believe. I am in favor of that The things that have to be talked about are talked about inside the locker room.. I also think he gives an opinion without bad intentions. As for Araújo’s play, defending is not easy, it is a very fast action. He commits a foul and the one who I’m sure didn’t want to be fouled is him. These are things that happen in football“, said.
“Many times it is given more impact by the press than within the locker room, we know perfectly well how all this works. You have to try not to say too many things outside. because then they can be interpreted in many ways. But I am convinced that he had no bad intentions. I don’t think it’s necessary for Xavi to bring anyone together. I think they will have already spoken in the locker room and everything will be resolved,” he added.
Likewise, he expressed: “I have no idea if there is a conflict. I’m not inside the locker room, nor have I spoken to anyone. In fact, I just arrived from South America, so they just explained the controversy a little to me. I can’t give much opinion either, but, in general terms, from my experience of how the issue of changing rooms works, I am convinced that if there is any misunderstanding, they will have already spoken“.
“By talking, people understand each other and that’s it. No need to review it again. I think there is more talk outside than inside, I am convinced,” he added during an event prior to this weekend’s ‘Clásico’ with Real Madrid sponsored by the Mahou brewery and in which he coincided with the Brazilian Julio Baptista.
Speaking about the match against PSG, Puyol also spoke about the fact that former Barcelona player Ousmane Dembele celebrated a goal he scored: “I have only played for Barcelona, I can’t comment on playing against your former team. But I think that’s very personal and I don’t think it’s disrespectful if you celebrate a goal. If I had left Barcelona and scored a goal, I don’t know if I would have celebrated it or not, and I can assure you that I am a Barcelona fan until death. At that moment each one does what he feels.”
Regarding Real Madrid’s role in the second leg of their tie against Manchester City, he said: “I think they held up very well to a team like Manchester City, which attacks very well in many ways. The whole team came together and did a tremendous job. Being able to put up with Manchester City at home is not easy.”
Puyol stated that he wants the Champions League to be won by Luis Enrique as head of PSG and he considered that both he and “Xavi think the same, they have the same intention and the same idea” of playing and representing Barcelona’s style: “Everyone knows the house very well. I have been lucky to work with Pep, for me he is the best coach I have ever had. He revolutionized football and this is demonstrated by the fact that now there are many teams that follow this idea of the game a little bit.”
Furthermore, he said that he does not believe that Xavi will change his mind after announcing that he would leave Barcelona at the end of the season and that if Rafa Márquez, in charge of the reserve team, has to be his replacement, “Deco has to say it.” Regarding the emergence of center back Pau Cubarsí, he noted: “It is a huge joy, it seems to me that he is having an incredible performance at only 17 years old. I think he has a very good future ahead of him.”
Regarding the ‘Clásico’, he noted: “It comes at a difficult time for Barcelona after the elimination, but it is also an opportunity to get involved in the league and we’ll see what happens in the end. When you have a blow like the one the other day, what you are waiting for is for the next game to arrive quickly so you can change the situation, the dynamic, get all the anger out. I think that’s what the team has to do.”
“It is clear that we need a positive result to be able to get involved in the fight for the league. Madrid is coming from a very big effort and we hope that it shows and that they cannot be so fresh. Although for Madrid it is also an opportunity to finish the League. We have to think about Barcelona and if we want to have hope, we have to get a positive result“, he stressed.
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