Following his recovery from a serious injury that he suffered last summer playing in the 2024 Copa America for his Uruguay national side, Ronald Araújo returned to pitch for FC Barcelona in their first match of 2025 against UD Barbastro.
The Blaugrana fans will certainly be happy to see such an important player making his return to the pitch, as he will provide another defensive option for Hansi Flick in this crucial second half of the season.
However, the Uruguayan defender’s future at the Catalan club still remains highly uncertain, as the negotiations for his renewal are not going very smoothly, and he has been linked with a move away from the club once again in the last few days.
Some recent reports suggested that he has already given the green light to a possible move to Juventus, even though his entourage later denied the veracity of these reports.
Meanwhile, Mundo Deportivo has published another report on this subject, and claim that the Italian side is currently waiting for a response from FC Barcelona on their loan offer with a mandatory purchase option for the €55m-rated defender, as they want to continue moving forward with the negotiations.
The Sporting Director of the Turin club, Cristiano Giuntoli, is particularly keen to arrive at a quick conclusion to this operation as two of Juventus’ defenders, Cabal and Bremer, are currently out with injuries, while Danilo’s situation is also quite complicated and uncertain.
However, Araújo is not the only defender they have in their sights. The Old Lady also tried to sign the Feyenoord defender David Hancko, but the Dutch club refused to sell him. Meanwhile, the Benfica youngster Antonio Silva is another option for whom they are also engaged in negotiations with the Portuguese side.
Meanwhile, Araújo continues to train with the rest of his teammates as he has traveled to Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Super Cup campaign, and is fully focused on the upcoming match against Athletic Club. It remains to be seen how this saga unfolds in the coming days and weeks.
