Barcelona willing to “listen to offers” for Man United target Ronaldo Araujo after Champions League red card | OneFootball

Manchester United’s long term centre-back target Ronald Araujo’s exit from Barcelona is looking more and more likely due to his red card against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last week.

Erik ten Hag’s men once again demonstrated yesterday that the defence could not handle any sort of pressure being applied, even from a Championship side, in the penalty shootout win over Coventry City in the FA Cup final.

United were 3-0 up and cruising but somehow managed to throw away the lead in the final 25 minutes of play, and were an offside flag away from losing outright in extra time.

The Red Devils have made a habit of giving up numerous shots on goal and look incredibly frail mentally when defending a lead. Consequently, it is thought that INEOS will sanction a move for a centre back, possibly even two this summer transfer window.

United have been linked with a mixture of experienced players like Gleison Bremer and Jean-Clair Todibo, as well as younger prospects like Jarrad Branthwaite, Antonio Silva and Aaron Anselmino.

However, a target that has been on United’s list much longer than any of these players is Barcelona’s Ronaldo Araujo, who the club tried to sign in May 2022 when they offered a “dizzying” contract for the player, but he ultimately decided to sign an extension at Camp Nou.

The Uruguayan has always claimed he is happy in the Catalonia but recent reports suggested Barcelona are beginning to become more open to the sale of the player, as the board is divided on what to do with the player should a bid of €80 million arrive for him.

Sport have added more to the story by claiming the player is not “untouchable” when it comes to being transferred this summer as they “will listen to offers for the Uruguayan centre back”.

The outlet goes on to state that “the match against PSG has left some open wounds and certain doubts about the continuity of some players. One of them is Araujo”.

It is an open secret that the Catalans need to sell to be able to comply with strict Spanish financial fair play rules and Araujo is one such player that would fetch a substantial amount of money. Being a homegrown player would also help generate income, in the way a sale of Marcus Rashford would hugely benefit United financially for similar reasons.

“Araujo is one of the footballers with the largest market and whose sale would generate more capital gains or profits. The club is convinced that they could achieve an offer of even more than €100 million. That amount for a centre back would be almost impossible to reject”.

Interestingly, the emergence of 17-year-old Pau Cubarsi means that the Catalans “believe that with another expert centre back who could arrive for free and the current squad, Barcelona would have that area covered and could afford to lose the Uruguayan at the cost of earning a million-dollar transfer”.

The piece finishes by challenging previous statements that Araujo is happy in Spain and they instead report, “it seems from his statements that Araujo would not mind a good transfer and a high profile in his new destination either”.

The fact that a newspaper so close to Barcelona is saying this, one usually considered a mouthpiece of the club, is significant. An outlet that will usually claim every player is happy to stay, instead asserting that one wants to move, is usually a telltale sign that the Catalans want to shift the player.

Moreover, there has been a definite change in the narrative from Spain about the defender’s exit over the past few weeks. At 25 years old and with immense experience behind him, there is no doubt Araujo could generate huge income if he is indeed, on the market.

Bayern Munich and Liverpool, as well as United, have been heavily linked to the player in the past.

A centre back pairing of Lisandro Martinez and the Uruguayan would certainly make United a lot more fearsome than what we have witnessed in the majority of this campaign.

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