Carles Puyol is one of the greatest ever players to have played for FC Barcelona in their glorious history. He is also undoubtedly one of the best captains that the club had and is an inspiration for the generations that have come since.
To say that Puyol bled garnet and blue would be an understatement. There is no one who has embodied the club’s spirit as well as the former defender and it is still one of the most baffling scenarios that he does not have a role in some capacity at Barcelona at the moment.
Puyol was offered the chance to become the sporting director at the club back in 2019 but turned that down. In hindsight, it was probably a wise decision, considering the presidential turmoil at the club back during that phase.
Even after all these years, when Puyol talks, everyone listens. The legend has now been doing the talking as quoted by SPORT, and has named one current Barcelona player as ‘one of the best in the world’. He said:
“To me, he is a very good player. He is one of the best defenders in the world. I believe each player must follow his own career, but we can certainly have similarities in our playing style.”
Ronald Araujo much like Puyol during his playing days, is a no-nonsense defender who wouldn’t think twice before putting his body on the line for the club. He is also the second captain at the club, just behind Marc-Andre Ter Stegen in the pecking order.
The Uruguayan is in the final stages of recovery from an injury that has kept him out of action since the Copa America campaign back in the summer. Hansi Flick mentioned recently that Araujo is ‘training with intensity’ as he works his way back.
Despite the injury issues he has had in this early phase of his career, incidentally much like Puyol, there is no disputing the fact that when fit, the 25-year-old Uruguayan defender is one of the very best in the world and has shut out opposition attackers expertly.
Blaugrana fans can’t wait for the time they can see Araujo play in Hansi Flick’s team. He seems to be born to play in the high-line setup that the German coach deploys and his attributes make him the perfect fit. Let’s wait and see when the Uruguayan returns and how he performs under the new manager.
I believe Barcelona is currently playing very well they just need to win 5 games so that they’ll finish the league campaign. The current team need to make us fans celebrate their achievements as a young team. They can help Spain to win 2026 World Cup, ball is in their court it is up to them not to distract by Real Soc lost.