FC Barcelona Star Araujo Ignores Contract Offer As Bayern Prepares Bid
FC Barcelona star Ronald Araujo has thus far ignored a renewal offer from the club, which knows that Bayern Munich is preparing a $108 million offer for the defender according to MARCA, citing anonymous sources.
Interest in Araujo from the Bavarians has been reported on since the turn of 2024, when it was revealed by Mundo Deportivo.
The Catalan newspaper explained that Araujo hadn’t decided his future and would wait to see how things pan out at the end of the ongoing season.
At the weekend, the Uruguayan spoke while on international duty with his country and said he was ‘happy’ with life at his current club.
“There has been a lot of talk about this topic, but I am happy in Barcelona,” Araujo stated when asked about his next career steps.
“Furthermore, we have to finish the season well because there are still challenges, [and] also with Uruguay [there is] the Copa America,” he added.
From the Spanish capital Madrid, MARCA reports that the 25-year-old has not responded to a renewal offer recently made by Barca sporting director Deco.
The club wants Araujo to commit until mid-2029, and also knows through an intermediary that Bayern is willing to pay up to $108 million (€100 million) for their defensive stalwart.
No formal offer has been made by Bayern as of yet, but the Blaugrana remains convinced that Araujo will decide to stay in Catalonia, who they consider a key part of the club’s long term future and back line alongside La Masia graduate Pau Cubarsi.
Learning alongside one of the world’s best defenders in Araujo will only help Cubarsi blossom after progressing to the first team on the cusp of his 17th birthday.
Furthermore, Laporta sees Araujo has “very integrated” into the Barca fold.
“What happens is that sometimes communication doesn’t quite get where it needs to go. I’m talking about negotiations. And there I think that this is already solved in some way because there was some distortion when it came to communicating everything we had in mind for Ronald,” he remarked in an interview conducted by Mundo Deportivo.
With Araujo returning to his adopted home after not featuring against the Basque Country on Saturday, nor the Ivory Coast midweek, he will now prepare for Barca’s La Liga hosting of Las Palmas on March 30.
