Barcelona gem defender surprises with ridiculous statistic | OneFootball

In a season that has swiftly been filled with a sense of doom and gloom over the past week, Barcelona have found a ray of sunshine in the form of defender Ronald Araujo.

Signed from Uruguayan outfit Boston River in 2018, the centre-back spent the first year with Barca’s B team before making his La Liga debut in October 2019 in a 4-0 win against Sevilla.

Since then, Araujo has gone on to make 45 appearances across all competitions, 35 of which have come in La Liga. And after his latest league appearance against Cadiz on Thursday night, in the aftermath of his point-saving display vs Granada on Monday, the 22-year-old has well and truly announced himself as a force to be reckoned with.

Indeed, while Barcelona’s display in the goalless draw at Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla was not much to write home about, the Catalans can draw a lot of confidence from the way Araujo performed, with his ability to carry the ball out of the back and the aggressive defending he brings to the table.

Araujo, following that game, now boasts of a unique and impressive statistic. Since making his La Liga debut in October 2019, the Uruguayan has now played a total of 2092 minutes of league football without getting dribbled past by an opponent even once.

During the period since Araujo made his La Liga debut for Barca, no other outfield player across the top five European leagues, to have played at least 2000 minutes, have been dribbled past less than five times.

This just goes on to indicate the level at which Araujo has been playing for Barcelona. And, without a doubt, he has firmly established himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet on the back of his string of impressive displays.