Barcelona have returned from Saudi Arabia on a wave of euphoria following their Spanish Super Cup victory over Real Madrid, but one of the key tricks of their first title under Hansi Flick could be on its way out. Ronald Araujo's contract situation has left the Uruguayan and Barcelona at an impasse.
While Juventus considers submitting an improved offer for Araujo, Barcelona has scheduled a meeting with Araujo and his agents for this week. Sporting director Deco is expected to open the door to an exit if Araujo makes it known he wants to leave the club.
However, the Super Cup could change Barcelona's perspective. For his part, Araujo was exuberant during his celebrations in Jeddah and received a lot of love from his teammates. If Inigo Martinez is ruled out for the next five weeks as expected, Barcelona will be much less at the back, while Andreas Christensen still has a few weeks off and can play 90 minutes every three days.
That leads to the second meeting scheduled for Deco, with Hansi Flick and his technical staff. The German manager is expected to argue for Araujo to remain at the club so he can stay in the title hunt. Araujo is ahead of Eric Garcia in the pecking order, and if Flick had his way, Garcia would leave before Araujo, according to Diario AS.
The determining factor remains Araujo's contract. Barcelona must consider whether they can agree a new deal with Araujo, and if not, how much damage it will do to his value on the market if they don't sell him now. On the other hand, losing Araujo could hurt their prize money and trophy challenges, which would also be costly.
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