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FC Barcelona's sporting director explains the reasons that led the Uruguayan to continue wearing the Blaugrana shirt.
One of the most popular names in this winter transfer market has been Ronald Araujo. The FC Barcelona centre-back seemed to have decided to put an end to his time in the Catalan capital and his agreement with Juventus of Turin was almost complete. However, the Uruguayan ended up declining the Italian option and opted to continue wearing the Blaugrana shirt.
In fact, a few weeks ago, Araujo signed his renewal with Barça until June 30, 2031. The conversations that the defender had with Deco, the sporting director of the Blaugrana entity, ended up bringing the negotiations to a successful conclusion and causing the '4' culé to stamp his signature on a new contract.
In an interview with SPORT, the Portuguese executive explained how the negotiations went, but he remains in the background: "I didn't convince him." Empathising with the footballer, the sporting director commented: "Sometimes, a footballer goes through moments in his career, sometimes you have doubts, about whether you are in the right project. Ronald wanted to feel if he could win, if he could fight for important things. Not just him. I put myself on the side of the footballer and I don't see myself being at Barça without winning titles. I wanted to be in a winning team. I told him that he was wrong to leave in January because this team from now until the end of the season will show that it can fight for important things. We have never wanted to sell him and the decision in the end was the player's. We want players who want to succeed at Barça," he argued.
It remains to be seen whether the Uruguayan's commitment is firm until the end of this season or whether it also extends beyond the summer. Asked by SPORT if he sees Araujo at Barça next season, Deco replied: "I think so. The feeling we have is that this team is going to be fighting for important things in the coming years and the player wants to be part of this."
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