Barcelona have renewed Ronald Araujo’s contract until 2026.
La Blaugrana announced the news on Tuesday afternoon in a club statement that revealed the Uruguayan centre-back’s release clause has been set at €1bn.
Araujo will be presented to the media on Friday afternoon.
The news is a boost for Barcelona. Araujo broke into the first team at Camp Nou at the beginning of the 2020/21 season and quickly became a key player in their defence.
This season he’s become even more important and it quickly became apparent that the Catalan club were going to need to give him terms that matched his influence; until now he was one of the lowest-paid players in the first team.
There was interest from the Premier League in his services and for a period it appeared like a departure could be on the cards.
But the deal has been done and Araujo’s future is at Camp Nou.
“It’s an enormous happiness to be able to stay here, to be able to renew with this club and stay for many more years,” he said once the announcement was made as carried by Mundo Deportivo.
“It’s the result of a lot of work and thanks to God that this opportunity has been given. I thank my family, the club and my teammates, who’ve always made everything much easier for me, and the coaches who’ve helped me from the moment I arrived.
“When I arrived at Barcelona B it was something tremendous, everything was great, but the prospect of moving up to the first team looked complicated.
“So today, to be in the first team having played more than 75 games and being able to renew, gives me huge happiness. It’s satisfying, a sign that the work is being done well.
“Let’s hope it stays that way.”
