Barcelona has granted captain Ronald Araujo indefinite leave to address his psychological well-being, according to Mundo Deportivo. The 26-year-old Uruguayan center-back recently traveled to Israel for a spiritual retreat, indicating the severity of his current state.
Araujo's mental distress stems from the match against Chelsea on 25/11/2024, where he received a second yellow card for a tackle on Marc Cucurella in the 44th minute. This critical error left Barca playing with one less player for nearly an hour, leading to two additional goals conceded and a decisive 0-3 loss.
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Araujo's tackle on Cucurella resulted in a second yellow card during Chelsea's 3-0 victory over Barca in the Champions League group stage on 25/11/2024. Photo: KS |
Araujo has since been absent from all four of Barca's recent matches. While the club initially attributed his absence to stomach pain, coach Hansi Flick later clarified that Araujo was dealing with a personal issue requiring privacy and respect.
This incident against Chelsea is not an isolated event for Araujo. He has a history of making critical errors that have significantly impacted Barca's performance in key matches. In the Champions League semi-final second leg last season, the Uruguayan defender made marking mistakes in the 90+3 and 99th minutes, contributing to Barca's 3-4 aggregate loss to Inter.
Similarly, in the Champions League 2023-2024 quarter-final second leg, Araujo received a direct red card just 29 minutes into the game. Playing with 10 men for over an hour, Barca squandered a 4-2 aggregate lead against PSG, conceding four more goals and suffering elimination on home turf.
While Marc-Andre ter Stegen remains Barca's official captain, his recurring injuries and status as no longer the primary goalkeeper meant he effectively ceded the captain's armband to Araujo from the start of last season.
Araujo joined Barca B in 2018 from Boston River, Uruguay. He was promoted to the first team a year later, where he has made 190 appearances, securing two La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey trophies, and two Spanish Super Cups. He has also earned 25 caps for the Uruguay national team, helping them achieve a third-place finish in Copa America 2024.
Thanh Quy (via ESPN)
