The five pointed out by Koeman

Ronald Koeman he remains clear and direct in his appearances before the media. On Saturday they asked him about Riqui Puig and the Dutch coach, after acknowledging that the youth squad had played a good game against Juventus, He clarified that if a player did not have minutes “it will be for something”, implying that there are footballers who are below the level of the rest or that their performance is being much lower than expected.

Obviously, some players in the squad felt singled out by Koeman. And is that there are five footballers who are far below the rest in terms of participation with the Dutch coach.

The most relevant case of all is that of the Brazilian Matheus fernandes, who has only played 17 minutes – against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League– in these first 16 official matches, with the aggravation that in a total of twelve they have not even entered the call. It is evident that his signing has been a terrible mistake on the part of the club, which has not even presented the player in society, being the first signing of modern times that has played in the first team without being introduced. Right now he is the player with the fewest minutes of the entire squad, including up to two players from the subsidiary: center-back Óscar Mingueza, who has 323 minutes, and forward Konrad de la Fuente, with 17 minutes, the same as Matheus.

The second with fewer minutes is Samuel Umtiti, with a total of 35, although in his case he has the excuse of having been injured for more than five months. In fact, as soon as he was discharged on Tuesday, he entered the list and played his first minutes against Juventus at the Camp Nou.

Then follows Riqui Puig. A player who has always come out has contributed things in the field, but that still does not have the approval of the coach, which already opened the doors to a loan this summer. The one from Matadepera has added a total of 77 minutes.

The fourth with the least participation is another youth squad: Carles alena. The Mataró midfielder accumulates 145 minutes. In your case, the coach also hinted at an exit as a more valid option, but without the forcefulness with which he opened the doors to Riqui Puig.

And the fifth, and last of those indicated by Koeman, is the defender Junior firpo, with 227 minutes on his counter, which has not been able to defeat a veteran like Jordi Alba on the left wing.

These five players felt Koeman's words as a full-blown ‘jibe’. Some took it rather indifferently, but others are willing to show the coach the great injustice he is committing to them. Time and results will tell in the end who is right.