FC Barcelona are on a tightrope regarding the future of their star defender Ronald Araujo.
The Uruguayan defender is the subject of serious interest from Bayern Munich, and if the Blaugrana are not careful, he will pursue this option. Bayern are confident they can secure a deal for Araujo, according to Sport, and have made it clear on several occasions that they want to make him their flagship signing. After several years of struggling to get the most out of his defensive recruits, Araujo was chosen as the main target, as was agreed with Thomas Tuchel.
The amount of the operation would be around 100 million euros and Bayern are ready to more than double his salary to achieve this. Bayern also believe that if they wait for Barcelona this summer, who need to make sales, the Blaugrana will eventually give in and accept an offer for Araujo. Bayern, in desperate need of funds if they cannot sell other players for a sufficient sum, believe their pursuit of Araujo will eventually make sense for Barcelona.
No room for error
The deciding factor might just be Deco. Araujo signed his current contract until 2026 for a salary much lower than he could have earned elsewhere in order to help the club, but now that he is the lowest paid central defender of the team’s four , although he has been the top performer over the past 18 months, he believes he deserves a significant raise. Knowing that Barcelona are not in a good financial situation, a paltry offer from Deco will be taken as an indication that Barcelona are happy to sell him to Bayern.
The Catalan daily thus affirms that if Araujo is happy at Barcelona, he believes that it is time for the club to make a gesture of recognition. It seems that FC Barcelona have their backs to the wall and their only way to keep Araujo is to make other lucrative sales. The Uruguayan defender is not only Barca’s best defender, he is also the fans’ favorite and one of the few leaders of the Barcelona team. Losing him could be traumatic for the Blaugrana.
