Future of Manchester United’s long-term target Ronald Araujo is dividing FC Barcelona’s board | OneFootball

Manchester United defensive target, Ronald Araujo, is the subject of much debate amongst the FC Barcelona board.

The Red Devils have had a horrible 2024 defensively as they have conceded more shots than any team in Europe’s top five leagues.

Moreover, the team has suffered a plague of injuries with no centre back at the club, with the exception of youngster Willy Kambwala, being able to stay fit for an extended period of time.

United have been linked to numerous defenders but one long term target is that of Ronaldo Araujo at Barcelona.

The Uruguayan has always insisted he is happy in Catalonia but United’s interest has never waned as the Catalan club continue to struggle financially.

It was most recently reported that Barca were prepared to offer the defender a new contract to ward off interest from United but this may not be the case according to recent reports.

Sport claim that there is much debate within the Barcelona board on what to do with Araujo this summer.

“Barça needs to sell this summer if they want to strengthen the squad,” the outlet says.

“There is no other option because the economy is tight and it is the only way to balance the salary limit. One of the most real options that the Blaugrana club has is to cash in on Ronald Araujo, since there are two clubs very interested in signing him and an internal debate has been opened about the possibility of releasing him”.

It is said that Barcelona’s president, Joan Laporta is “reticent” about losing the player but “everyone (on the board) does not think the same if the proposal exceeds €80 million”.

The Uruguay international has a contract until 2026 but his current salary does not reflect how important he is to the current Barca team.

“Araujo has proposals on the table that would double the improvement that Barça is offering and they believe that the difference is too big. And the club is not going to move higher than what has been offered because they cannot increase the wage bill any more. With this panorama, the emergence of Bayern and a Premier League team has caused all parties to have a period of reflection to find the best solution for all parties”.

“At Barça, the sale of Araujo would be a top-level economic solution, since he would count as a net profit. The club is clear that he is the best defender in the squad, but there are no major proposals for other players”.

As a result the club “could end up giving the green light despite the fact that Laporta has personally interceded so that the Uruguayan’s renewal goes ahead”.

Finally, it is reported that “the next few months will be key” and the emergence of Pau Cubarsi and Mikayil Faye mean that the Catalan side have a lot of cover in the central defensive area.

Araujo has been a target of the Red Devils for a while now and at 25 years old, he is at a good age where he has a lot of experience but there is still room to grow as a player. He has been described as an “impressively dominant” defender who wins most of his battles.

An all South American partnership of Lisandro Martinez and Araujo is something that United fans would certainly savour, should United make an €80m (£69m) bid to test the Barcelona board’s resolve this summer.

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