“We are friends” – Ex-Man United youngster Arnau Puigmal denies rift with passionate Nigerian star

The Spaniard has been crucial to Almeria's unstoppable march towards La Liga, but he was at the receiving end of Umar Sadiq's outburst at the weekend

Almeria midfielder Arnau Puigmal has brushed aside any report of a rift with club teammate Umar Sadiq, insisting that he is best of friends with the Nigerian striker.

The controversy started when Sadiq showed his anger towards Puigmal when the Spanish youngster failed to pass him the ball when better placed during the league clash with Real Zaragoza on Sunday at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos.

Despite being Almeria's leading goalscorer, Sadiq went into that gameweek 20 clash without finding the back of the net in his last seven matches.

And the 24-year-old's anxiety about that goal drought was unveiled when he vented on his teammate when Puigmal failed to spot him in the visitor's danger area with the scoreboard still reading 0-0.

But all the tension soon eased as Sadiq opened the scoring for Almeria just past the hour-mark before Alejandro Pozo and Ramazani netted late strikes to secure a 3-0 win.

And Puigmal, who arrived from the Manchester United reserves in the summer, maintains that he holds nothing against the passionate Nigerian striker.

“A striker lives off goals, and Sadiq wants to help,” the 20-year-old said, in quotes relayed by La vos de Almeria.

“Sometimes the ball doesn't want to enter, and he has continued fighting until he regains his sensations. In the end, what happened to us stays in the field because I am a good friend of Sadiq.

“I know how he is, and nothing happens. The reality is that he is a good teammate, and he had that reaction like I can have myself some time. We are friends.”

While Puigmal has two goals in 17 league games, Sadiq has eight goals and seven assists in 19 Segunda Division matches for Almeria.

The former Nigerian youth international is the player with the most goal contribution (15) in the Spanish second-tier.