FC Barcelona have managed to register two big name first team players who were at risk of leaving the club for free.
Friday’s cash injection of €120 million ($131.5 million) through the resale of stakes in Barca Studios plus the €50.4 million ($55.2 million) transfer of Ousmane Dembele to Paris-Saint Germain revealed on Saturday have been key to the development.
It means that as confirmed by Esport3 and SPORT, Barca have finally been able to register defensive stalwart Ronald Araujo and new signing Ilkay Gundogan for the upcoming 2023/2024 season, with both men cleared to feature in Sunday’s away trip to Getafe.
Before Barca received a much-needed financial boost – complimented by the €12.5 million ($13.7 million) sale of Franck Kessie to Al-Ahli – they had just 13 players registered for their La Liga debut.
Two of those were Kessie and Dembele, and there were fears that Gundogan could walk for free and still receive the first year of his salary because of a reported clause in his contract allowing him to do so if not able to compete at the Estadio Coliseum Alfonso Perez.
That is now a non-issue, and it remains to be seen if the reigning Champions League winner who recently captained Manchester City to the second treble in English football history is fit to start considering a knock picked up against Real Madrid in the preseason tour of the United States.
On Tuesday in the Joan Gamper Trophy, Gavi took his place in the four-man midfield system before Gundogan came on in the second half and was credited with turning a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur alongside youngsters such as Lamine Yamal who destroyed the Premier League giants with a blistering 10-minute cameo.
As for Araujo, he penned his new contract in April of last year and has waited patiently for it to be registered amid interest from a string of top clubs which he confirmed to The Athletic.
“I rejected very important offers; in various cases, even more than they gave me here,” Araujo said.
However he also added: “I’m happy here. We live in a world in which money is very important but, for me, it’s not the most important thing. I was doing well here, the people love me, and I feel at home. That’s the most important thing.
“I showed with my renewal that I’m happy and I want to be here. Nothing more. I think these are things that get resolved,” Araujo concluded on the matter, with the economic gymnastics pulled off by sporting director Mateu Alemany and president Joan Laporta proving that the Urugayan was right to bide his time.
As per several reports, Araujo could have also left for free had he wanted. Instead, though, the imposing center back is keen on becoming a club legend after already establishing himself as a fan favourite.
