Ronald Araújo went smiling to the Texas room in Barcelona to witness the premiere of the documentary “Orígenes y Ronald Araújo”, produced by the Barça production company Barça Studios, in the midst of a wave of rumors that place him as one of the painful sales that could arrive this summer. Teams like Bayern Munich have already expressed their interest in the centre-back, who has a contract with Barça until 2026.
15 days ago, although without a specific proposal, Deco told his agents, Edoardo Crnjar and Edmundo Kabchi 15 days ago that his intention is to renew the central defender. Both parties have met to continue talking in the coming weeks with a clearer proposal. “I would renew him for life,” said president Joan Laporta, who accompanied the Uruguayan at the premiere of the documentary. “Araújo is a wonderful person. I will not discover Ronald's football quality. But I want to highlight his commitment to the club. You have always had it in games, training sessions, with your teammates, with the coaching staff and with the fans. It is a pride that a player like him wears the colors of Barça,” said the president with coach Xavi Hernández present in the room. “When you meet him you see that the word that defines him is humility. Without her he wouldn't have gotten here. “I am happy to have experienced that step from promising player to captain,” said the coach.
“Now we have two titles left. There is a great team and we will give everything until the end of the season. We deserved to win in Naples but here we will go all out. It is our responsibility,” said Araújo, who turns 25 tomorrow. “Winning the Champions League would be a dream. “It is my goal, my desire and that of everyone,” he added. “You have to fight to win. There is no need to throw in the towel. We have to continue until we can't breathe. It is the message that I want to give to Barcelona fans and the players,” Laporta added.
João Félix, João Cancelo, Raphinha and Gavi agreed, who did not want to miss the premiere of the documentary, produced by Barça Studios and which will be broadcast on Barça One, the new Barça audiovisual platform that will begin operating in April.
The club defines this platform as the natural evolution of the defunct Barça TV, which stopped broadcasting on June 30 after 24 years. The board pointed out economic reasons. Now Barça One materializes the club's commitment to create its own project in the entertainment industry with the aim of becoming the reference medium for the culé fans. “It will be the best audiovisual platform for a football club. It will start in April. We want Barcelona fans to have access to the best selection of Barça content. This will also be a new source of income for the entity.” Laporta said.
The platform will be free to access, with advertising, for which registration will not be necessary. Although there will also be a payment method to avoid ads and to which FC Barcelona members will have free access. “It will be a reference medium for all culés. Entertainment and information to experience Barça around the world 24 hours a day,” added the president.
Barça One will have more than 1,500 hours of video, with archival content produced during the Barça TV period and a new programming offering. The first exclusive content of Barça One will be Araújo's documentary. “It was nice to open my house to show my origins. The most beautiful thing is seeing my family participate,” explained the Uruguayan. The documentary explores, among other things, Araújo's childhood in his native Rivera: “My mother stopped playing soccer to take me to Huracán training, my first club, when I was 5 years old. In my house we have always lived football intensely,” explains Araújo.
And speaking of futures of Barça players. Cancelo was asked upon his arrival at the Texas room if he sees himself at Barça next year. The full-back, on loan from Manchester City, responded with a “yes”.
