New Delhi: La Liga giants FC Barcelona have secured the long term future of their defense as Uruguayan center back Ronald Araujo has signed a new long term deal with the club. The 25-year-old has been an extremely important player for the Blaugrana ever since breaking into the first team in 2019, making over 150 appearances for the La Liga club. He was promoted from the club’s B squad after signing for them from Uruguayan club Boston River.
The new deal sees him stay at the club until June 2031 as he becomes the second Barcelona player to sign a new deal at the club following Spanish left-back Gerard Martin’s footsteps. Araujo has been an immense player for Barcelona, helping them win the 2022/23 La Liga title as well as being named in the La Liga team of the season on two separate occasions, once at the end of the last campaign and once for the 2021/22 season.
💙 𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗨𝗝𝗢 𝟮𝟬𝟯𝟭 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/pDxACOKt2z
— FC Barcelona. January 23, 2025
Araujo is thrilled to be continuing on for Barcelona and says he feels the love at the club, which was one of the motivating factors for him while signing the new deal. Speaking to the club’s media following his contract extension, Araujo said, “Honestly, I’m very happy. Thank God. It’s incredible to be able to renew with Barcelona and stay for many more years. The happiness is immense.”
The center back had been dealing with a hamstring injury that he suffered during Uruguay’s Copa America campaign this past summer which saw him miss the entire first half of the season. He recently returned to the starting lineup for the club, captaining them in his first La Liga appearance of the season, the 1-1 draw with Getafe as he’s been promoted to become the club’s second captain this season.
New deal ends Juventus speculation
🚨🔵🔴 Barcelona are now convinced that Ronald Araújo will stay at the club, not leaving in January!
New round of talks took place on Tuesday with director Deco involved, as @ffpolo reveals.
Barça got the green light from Ronald to continue at the club despite Juventus efforts. pic.twitter.com/vBXw709trH
– Fabrizio Romano (@fabrizioromano) January 15, 2025
Araujo was linked with a move to Italian giants Juventus for the major part of the winter transfer window as the Old Lady are looking to shore up their defense. Juventus star Gleison Bremer suffered an ACL injury in October and is set to miss almost the entire season, with the Brazilian not coming back before April. This led to Thiago Motta’s side looking for defensive reinforcements in the window and they had identified Araujo as their main target.
Multiple reports claimed that Araujo was edging closer to a move to the Italian giants but he squashed all those rumors by signing this new contract with Barcelona. The Catalan club never intended to sell their star defender and always maintained their stance on the same. Juventus, meanwhile, decided to pursue other targets for the position, bringing in Chelsea defender Renato Veiga in on loan for the rest of the season.
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