New Delhi: The Catalan club Barcelona have been completely shocked to learn that Barcelona center-back Ronald Araujo has reportedly agreed to a move to Italian powerhouse Juventus. After overcoming a severe hamstring injury, the tall defender only made his season debut in January when Barcelona crushed fourth-tier Barbastro in the Copa del Rey. Although Araujo commanded the team with pride during that 4-0 victory, he has not yet agreed to a new contract with the Spanish team.
Negotiations for an extension have been ongoing since the summer for the Uruguayan international, whose contract expires in June 2026. Any offer that Barcelona makes is thwarted by their precarious financial status, which has allowed teams like Bayern Munich to keep an eye on the situation as negotiations stall. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus has already reached personal terms with Araujo, who is open to a loan move in January, and they now seem to be the front-runners in the competition for the player.
Barça caught off-guard
🚨⚪️⚫️ Juventus are insisting for Ronald Araujo deal with more contacts planned with Barcelona to speed up talks. He’s the main target as centre back.
Benfica are still not opening the doors for Antonio Silva’s exit in January window at this stage. 🚫🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/3Qh1QEC4Vf
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 9, 2025
The Spanish daily MARCA revealed shortly after the Italian publication’s shocking revelation that Barcelona was unaware of any discussions between Araujo and Juventus, much less the advanced state of those talks. Many have chosen not to trust these rumors because of Araujo’s stellar reputation within the club. After six and a half years together, certain insiders just cannot tolerate a situation where the center-back has abandoned the team.
According to Gazzetta, Araujo is looking for a new environment after suffering numerous injuries in Spain in recent years. With Juventus’ defensive resources running low, manager Thiago Motta is eager to make the move. While experienced defender Danilo is believed to have been made available for a free move this winter, Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal have both been sidelined for the remainder of the season due to ACL injuries.
Bad news for Barcelona, with Olmo’s uncertainty
Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor have been granted temporary playing registrations as Spain’s top sports court continues to analyse Barcelona’s case against LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation. pic.twitter.com/A5gMKzbozt
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 8, 2025
This is a huge news for the Catalan giants, who are already dealing with a numerous other transfer issues includint the registration problems with Dani Olmo. This only makes it worse for Hansi Flick’s side as Araujo is known to be one of the better defenders in the league. He has been instrumental for Barcelona over the past few seasons, and this sudden exit only raises questions about why he took this quick decision to leave the club where he has already spent more than six years now.
With Dani Olmo and Pau Victor’s registration yet to be made permanent, problems are creeping in for Hansi Flick and Barcelona this season. The future of these players are still uncertain, while it is almost confirmed that Araujo will be leaving the club for their European rivals, Juventus for a loan spell.
Barcelona have been caught off guard by reports of Ronald Araujo agreeing to a loan move to Juventus. Things are looking bad for the Catalan club with Olmo and Victor only been given a temporary registration. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
