According to a report by Sique Rodriguez, Barcelona are expecting an offer of around €80 million for Ronald Araujo from long-time admirers Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester United have been linked with Ronald Araujo and their interest has grown in the past few weeks because Barcelona’s financial condition could force the club to offload the central defender.
Barcelona are planning to go back to the 1:1 rule which means the club will have to raise every penny they spend in the market and that’s one of the reasons why several of the important players could leave in the summer. Raphinha, Lewandowski and Frenkie de Jong are all reportedly up for sale at the end of this season and Laporta wants to cash in on a defender as well.
Chelsea and Man United are the two clubs who can afford to pay a premium for Araujo but it looks like Bayern Munich are the first ones who are willing to empty their pockets for the centre-back. However, €80 million is not a very fair offer because Ronaldo Araujo is valued at €70 million and his contract with Barcelona expires in 2026.
Should Barcelona accept a premium fee for Ronaldo Araujo and sell him?
Barcelona can easily ask for around €100 million for Ronaldo Araujo but as per the latest reports, Barca are not interested in selling the defender.
The management thinks Araujo is far too important to be sold and they will prefer to offload other defenders like Jules Kounde or Christensen instead.
If this decision is true then it will be a big blow for Chelsea, Man United and also Bayern Munich but with the kind of financial troubles Barcelona are in, we feel they will have to cash in on Ronald Araujo.
The club will bring in a lot of funds if they can sell Frenkie de Jong and Lewandowski but on the flip side they have to sign a lot of players as well and in our anticipation, the Catalans will need at least €250 million to match their targets.
Ronald Araujo has played 149 games for Barcelona and he is the most valuable defender in the squad right now. Clubs like Man United and Chelsea will happily pay €90-100 million for the 25-year-old and in our opinion, Barcelona should put him up for sale and use the money to rebuild their squad.
In the end, the final decision will rest on whether Barcelona can manage their finances without selling the South American but with the kind of value he holds in the market, we seriously doubt he will be playing at the Camp Nou next season.
