The Numbers Behind Ronald Arauajo’s New Contract At FC Barcelona

The worried minds of FC Barcelona fans are starting to be put at rest with news that Ronald Araujo will extend his contract at Camp Nou.

The Uruguayan was about to become a free agent in the summer of 2023, but the influence of international teammate and former Blaugrana legend Luis Suarez, plus the improving form of the team under Xavi Hernandez, has swayed the 23-year-old’s head away from interest from the Premier Leauge.

“I feel blessed I can play for this club,” Araujo admitted this week.

“Barcelona have a very different philosophy to everyone else, even the Spanish teams,” the defender explained. “When I arrived to understand the philosophy… the ball moves very fast. When I went to control it, it got away from me and I went home frustrated.”

“With work and delivery day to day I said, “I am here and I can play, I have the blessing to be at this club and that’s why I worked so hard. And thanks to god, it’s bearing fruit,” Araujo also revealed.

Fresh off the back of Barca’s 1-0 win over Sevilla on Sunday, which moved the club up into second place in La Liga and where Araujo, tipped as a future club captain, was typically excellent, reports have begun to circle that the number ‘4’ is ready to put pen to paper.

“It’s close,” his agent Flavio Perchman told reporters, as per ESPN. “There is a desire on both sides [to finalize the renewal] and Ronald wants to stay at the club.”

On Wednesday, Mundo Deportivo reveal some of the numbers behind the new deal. While there are no exact figures yet on salary, Araujo will now go from being one of the lowest earning players in the first team due to his arrival from Boston River to the reserve ‘B’ outfit to now taking home a figure that is presumably more than the €3mn ($3.3mn) he reportedly rejected in January. At the same time, however, the paper says that Araujo is accepting “less salary” for “less years” in Catalonia.

The information that MD does have reveals that, like Pedri’s when he renewed terms, Araujo’s release clause will rise to a whopping €1bn ($1.1bn). Also akin to the Golden Boy, with Araujo part of a golden group of youngsters whom Barca are pinning their future to, the center back will be tied down until 2026.

Now attention turns to Gavi, and getting the 17-year-old prodigy and his camp to commit to Xavi’s project for most of what remains of the 2020s.