Neither Ronald Araújo nor FC Barcelona are experiencing their best week after the painful elimination in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against PSG in Montjuïc. The Uruguayan centre-back saw a direct red card after an action with Barcola half an hour into the game and with the score at 1-0. That action changed the game and the Barça team ended up losing 1-4. Araújo did not hide. And at the presentation of the 19th edition of the Solidarity Stories of Sports that this year he sponsors along with fellow Uruguayan Cristhian Stuani from Girona, he expressed his feelings. “I am sad like everyone about the elimination. It was a fortuitous move. If he doesn't collect it, nothing happens, but if he collects it, he has to expel me. I don't feel responsible, although it obviously affects the game, but there are many things in the context itself. But I am grateful to the culés. I was moved to hear people say Uruguayan when they expelled me, I appreciate it very much. This generation will win Champions. There will be revenge, we will try again,” he promised.
Barça not only suffered the expulsion of Araújo. Also a penalty awarded for an action by Cancelo on Dembélé, who with Vitinha and Mbappé were the three protagonists of PSG in this tie. "This is the Champions League. No matter the rival, it is impossible to come back if one of your players is sent off... Putting yourself with one less man because of the red card so early in the game kills you," Gündogan said in statements that did not They ended up sitting well. “I prefer to keep what I think to myself. I will only say that I have codes and values that I believe must be respected,” Araújo snapped, serious and hurt.
At the same time, the sports team led by Deco is working on a proposal to renew the center. Sources close to the negotiation point out that there has been no major progress during this week of international commitments but that Barcelona is firm in its commitment. A month ago, Deco already conveyed to his agents, Edoardo Crnjar and Edmundo Kabchi, his plan to renew until 2029. “My renewal is going well. Some conversations have started, we are now at a key moment in the season. When the course ends they will sit down to talk. There is always talk of possible offers. Every year it will be like this but I am very happy in Barcelona, I always show it. "Sometimes it works out well, other times it doesn't, but I want to help Barça grow," the Uruguayan responded to Bayern's interest.
This is not the first time he has made his intentions clear. He was already able to leave Barça in 2022 before his last renewal. He had three Premier League proposals on the table and, especially, a very important salary at Manchester United. Even so, the Uruguayan gave express orders to his agents not to listen to offers.
Barça's next stop takes them to the Bernabéu classic against a Real Madrid team that has just eliminated Manchester City in the Champions League quarterfinals and leads the League with an eight-point lead over the Blaugrana.
“We have mathematical options and we have to fight it until the end. We are going to try to cut points from the Bernabéu,” said Araújo, grateful for being the protagonist of the solidarity initiative.
The profits made from the sale of the 19th edition of the book Relatos Solidarios del Deporte will go to the Enriqueta Villavecchia Foundation, an entity that has been working for 35 years to improve the living conditions of children with cancer and other diseases. This foundation has the project of building and recovering a new pediatric palliative care space in the old Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona that will be named after the Victory Pavilion. “Araújo has already visited one of the children who had to stop playing soccer due to childhood cancer. He gave her a great boost of enthusiasm and joy,” explained the Foundation's manager, Anna Varderi. “Football is part of my life, but we have a great speaker and we have to help in any way we can. It was a great experience for me to visit him,” said Araújo. The collection of the previous 18 editions of the solidarity book already exceeds one million euros.
