Barcelona make positive progress with one captain’s renewal while another’s remains stalled | OneFootball

FC Barcelona are clear about their objectives and attentive to details that could hinder the club’s progress. This includes highlighting which players are essential for the sporting project moving forward and which players are not. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of Barcelona to strike a fine line in that regard.

As one would typically expect, the captains of the team are considered crucial players both in terms of their quality as players but also due to their leadership roles. Accordingly, Barcelona are committed to renewing the contracts of two such team captains who have their contracts set to expire in 2026.

The two captains in question are none other than Uruguayan defender Ronald Araujo and Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong. Both players currently have contracts in place that will expire in 2026, and the club wants to prevent that from happening by extending their stay at Barcelona.

Unfortunately, as highlighted by SPORT, the reality of their ongoing negotiations with the camps of both players is quite different from one another. In the case of one captain, things are beginning to look optimistic and progress has been made. On the other side of things, negotiations remain stalled and no progress seems to have taken place.

In Araujo’s case, the news is mostly positive. The Uruguayan defender, mainly thanks to the impact that Hansi Flick has had on this Barça team and the way in which he has assured Araujo that he will be a key part of his project, has now seemed to have changed his mind about his future. While there were doubts previously, he is much more committed to staying at the club now.

As a result of that change of intent, progress has been made in terms of negotiations. The player’s camp and Barcelona are much closer than they were some months ago, and work continues to be done. Simultaneously, Araujo himself continues to work on his recovery and aims to be available for the team again soon.

De Jong, on the other hand, still feels betrayed by the club for considering his departure some time ago. The Dutchman did not feel truly valued and that sense of mistrust between the club and the player seems to have created a rift between the two parties. Unfortunately, as a direct consequence, Barcelona have seen their advances stalled with no answer yet.

However, SPORT has revealed that while tensions are still there, the negotiations have not completely broken down. Barcelona wants to have De Jong spread his salary over a couple of years and extend his stay as a result of it, but it will likely take some time to figure out a solution that is mutually beneficial to all included parties.