The Arsenal skipper has long been linked with a return to the Spanish side.
“Cesc is a really nice guy and desperate to become a Barcelona player,” Puyol said in the Daily Star Sunday.
“But he is not the sort of player to be ruthless and start using the media to get him the move that he wants.
“There are many players who would try all sorts of tricks to make it impossible to ever play for Arsenal again but that is not his style.
“I think Arsenal need to respect his class and show the same class by giving the guy who has given so much to them the move that he and his family want.
“He isn’t just being deprived of moving to the best club in the world. More importantly, he is being deprived of coming home.
“He has tried everything to win trophies at Arsenal and when he sees the success so many of his Spanish team-mates are having at Barcelona, it’s only natural that he should want to be a part of that.”
He added: “He is the future of Barcelona and Arsenal can’t do anything to stop that. I have just spent six weeks with him and there is only one club he wants to be at.
“The worst-case scenario is that we have to wait another 12 months for him to join us – but Arsenal, Barcelona and Cesc know that is the very worst-case scenario.”
