FC Barcelona will reportedly listen to offers for for their center back Ronald Araujo, who was … [+] previously deemed “untouchable”, according to SPORT citing anonymous sources.
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FC Barcelona will listen to offers for its previously “untouchable” center back Ronald Araujo according to SPORT, which cited anonymous sources.
The Uruguayan hasn’t enjoyed his best week, after being forced to beg for forgiveness from Barca’s fans following his costly mistake against Paris Saint-Germain.
Barca went into a quarterfinal second leg with the Qatar-backed Ligue 1 giants boasting a 3-2 lead, which quickly became 4-2 when Raphinha scored within a quarter of an hour.
Approaching 30 minutes down on the clock, however, Araujo lost his head when hacking down Bradley Barcola as the last defender.
This triggered an automatic red card, then criticism from his teammate Ilkay Gundogan for the part the development played in Barca eventually losing 4-1 on the night and 6-4 on aggregate to PSG as they couldn’t keep up with their fast-paced opposition with 10 men.
Now, on the eve of El Clasico, SPORT reports that Barca is open to selling Araujo.
The club needs to raise $107 million (€100 million) by June 30 to balance the books, and believes it could get more than that amount by putting Araujo on the market.
Already in 2024, Bayern Munich has shown interest in the 25-year-old, who outgoing coach Thomas Tuchel reportedly called to explain his sporting project at the Allianz Arena.
Mundo Deportivo reported that Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane is “one step away” from succeeding Tuchel in the Bavarian dugout and has requested defensive reinforcements, which means that an approach for Araujo could still be planned.
Above all, Barca reportedly believes in the undoubted potential of its breakout La Masia prodigy Pau Cubarsi and that it can afford to lose Araujo and then acquire a strong free transfer to partner the 17-year-old in central defense.
Furthermore, Araujo might also be tempted by a bigger money offer elsewhere that Barca and its president Joan Laporta are unable to provide alongside the chance to regularly compete in the Champions League.
While Araujo’s current side failed to make it through to the last four, Bayern will meet Barca’s bitter rivals Real Madrid there at the end of the month.
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