Over the last couple of months, a lot of things have seemed to change at FC Barcelona. The Catalan club is no longer continuing with the same manager, and now move in a different direction. With Xavi Hernandez no longer in charge at Barcelona, the new path follows the instructions of Hansi Flick.
The former Bayern Munich coach may not share all of Xavi’s ideals and beliefs, but he has some similarities with the coach. One similarity is that, just like Xavi, Flick believes that Ronald Araujo is an irreplaceable player and must be kept as a Barcelona player at all costs.
However, the situation has not been simple at all when it comes to the Uruguayan defender. In the winter transfer window, there was growing interest from Bayern Munich in Araujo. The German giants were even willing to go near the €100 million mark for him.
As a result, despite not considering it a sporting benefit, Xavi understood that Araujo’s hypothetical transfer could bring in some much-needed revenue for an economically-limited Barcelona. For this reason, a few alternatives were looked into, and a certain Frenchman was reportedly one of Deco’s personal choices.
For the Barcelona director, as highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, Sevilla defender Loic Bade was a solid option. The 24-year-old French defender, known for his tall height and dynamic profile, was the kind of player that Deco believed fitted the requirements that Xavi would have needed to replace Araujo.
Despite that belief, and the reports that suggest Bayern Munich were offering €80 million and an additional €10 million in add-ons for Araujo, Barcelona ended up not selling their star defender. Even now, in terms of an alternative, Hansi Flick has completely different requirements than those of Xavi previously.
Jonathan Tah, now linked to Bayern Munich, was one of Flick’s suggestions. However, the priority is to retain Ronald Araujo at Barcelona, and that is reportedly something that is more feasible now than it was when Xavi was in charge. The summer window is still long, however, so it remains to be seen what becomes of Araujo’s continuity.
