Earlier this month, Barcelona confirmed that Ronald Araujo had signed a new deal, although this agreement saw its release clause fall considerably. It had been € 1 billion in his previous contract, but it has now been reported that it is only € 65 million.
However, there are several catches that have been added by Barcelona. This week it was claimed that the release clause is only on this amount for the first few days of the summer transfer window, and now new information has been released by Relo, saying that clubs in the Champions League elite cannot sign the Uruguayan defender for € 65 million under some circumstance.
On the contrary, the asking price that those clubs would have to pay is more in the region of € 300-400 million, which is an amount that many would be deemed priceless by many, what Barcelona's goal was when drafting the agreement.
This is a blow to clubs such as Arsenal and Juventus, who were both associated with signing Araujo before he has committed his future to Barcelona. These catches in the release clause make it very possible for clubs in the Saudi Pro League to take a step for the 25-year-old, although it is very unlikely that he is willing to go to the career in this phase of his career Middle East to move.
Barcelona was desperate to ensure that Arajo signed a new contract because they see him and Pau Cubarsi as their central defending partnership in the long term. The couple have been playing together in recent weeks and the Catalans still have to lose if they have been in the same line-up.
It is still to be seen how the situation of Araujo takes place in the summer, but if these reports are accurate, it makes it for one of Europe's elite to sign him. Since it is these clubs that could seduce him from Barcelona, it makes it more likely that he will stay in Catalonia.
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