Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo has spoken about his future again after Tuesday’s Champions League win over Napoli.
The defender has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich this season and offered up the following response when asked about his situation.
“My future depends on the club,” he said. “Everyone knows I’m very happy here at Barca. And I’m very grateful to Xavi.
“We are very happy with the qualification, we played a great game at home. The support of our fans was very key from the first minute.”
Yet Araujo’s future continued to be talked about after the game. ESPN reporter Moises Llorens has claimed Barca have now decided Araujo can leave if the club “receive an offer close to €100 million ($109m).”
Barca said to be well aware that “Araújo is one of their most valuable assets” and fear “they may have to let him go” for financial reasons.
There’s also the fact that Barca are well-stocked for defenders. Pau Cubarsi has broken into the first team this season and joined Jules Koundé, Andreas Christensen and Iñigo Martínez in the squad. Barca also have Eric Garcia and Clement Lenglet out on loan.
Araujo is currently contracted to Barcelona until 2026 and has a €1 billion release clause in his contract. He’s always said he wants to stay but you get the feeling that the Uruguayan’s future may be set to dominate the headlines this summer.
