Announced as leaving for Juventus, the Uruguayan defender played with Barça's nerves. But in the end, Deco managed to convince him to stay.
No one at FC Barcelona saw it coming. Blaugrana since 2018, Ronald Araujo (25 years old) asked to leave Catalonia. Under contract until 2026, the Uruguayan central defender, captain of Barça, had decided to give in to the advances of Juventus . A huge blow for the Culés who did not expect to see their leader want to pack up and leave in the middle of the season. And if Araujo wanted to leave, it was because he had been convinced by the project presented by Thiago Motta's Juventus.
The Old Lady, who are finalising the arrival of Parisian striker Randal Kolo Muani , seemed willing to pay €50m to the Blaugranas, even though the latter had indicated that it would be necessary to climb to €70m to possibly dissuade them from keeping their South American. But behind the scenes, the Catalans were working hard to convince their captain not to abandon ship. Robert Lewandowski was filmed asking his teammate to stay just after the final whistle of the Spanish Super Cup final won against Real Madrid (5-2).
Deco made the difference
And yesterday, president Joan Laporta added another layer in a press conference. "The players we have are very useful for Barça. And we want them to continue. Ronald is under contract and we want him to stay. He speaks with the management and we will find a solution. He is a player that we appreciate on a professional and personal level. We have a direct and pleasant relationship with him. Things have happened that I do not want to talk about, but we want to find a solution that satisfies everyone ." A work that has, it seems, borne fruit.
Mundo Deportivo announced this Wednesday morning that Deco, the club's sporting director, managed to turn things around last night. The former FC Porto player convinced Araujo to stay and the latter would have therefore drawn a line under his Turin adventure. According to the pro-Barça daily, Deco's insistence would have pleased the Uruguayan who obviously felt like a desired element. And that's not all, since MD adds that a contract extension could quickly be signed. This is what you call a 180 degree turnaround.