Barcelona will consider the sale of Ronald Araujo this summer, as their economic strife continues to punish the club. Since Lionel Messi left in 2021, Barcelona have navigated their economic troubles without having to let go of a major name, but it looks as if that run will come to an end this summer.
As the Blaugrana look to tackle their €200m excess over their salary limit, they will be required to make at least one major sale in order to register the likes of Vitor Roque and Inigo Martinez next summer. After their win over Napoli, Araujo said that his future ‘depended on the club’.
🚨 JUST IN: Barcelona will consider letting Ronald Araújo leave if they receive an offer close to €100 million. @moillorens, @samuelmarsden pic.twitter.com/mKULiloOyG
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 13, 2024
According to ESPN, the club will sell him if they get the right offer. Barcelona have been internally debating the sale of the Uruguayan or Frenkie de Jong in the summer, and they hope to be able to balance their accounts with other sales of less crucial players, but that obviously is dependent on what offers arrive.
The Blaugrana reportedly turned two offers from Bayern Munich down in January, but will accept an offer approaching €100m for the 24-year-old this summer. The central defender is also attracting interest from the Premier League, Football España understands.
Araujo had previously been billed as an ‘untouchable’ player for Barcelona, and the defender has always maintained that he is happy at Barcelona. President Joan Laporta maintained that he would ‘renew Araujo for life’, and they are thought to be in talks over a new deal at the same time. Losing him would be to strip the heart out of their defence, and Xavi Hernandez reportedly threatened to resign if he were sold to Bayern in January, of course before he eventually did. Given the incredible form of youngster Pau Cubarsi, this is perhaps seen as a less vulnerable time to release the news.
