Barcelona face nightmare Araujo scenario as Man Utd ready crazy offer

Robin Bairner

• 15 Dec 2023 18:04 GMT
• 3 min read

Barcelona are set to come under pressure to sell Ronald Araujo, with Manchester United ready to make what has been described as a “crazy” offer for the centre-back.

Araujo has been a standout player for Barca in what has been a difficult campaign to date, with the 24-year-old Uruguay international attracting interest of clubs, including Man Utd and Bayern Munich, who hope he can be lured away with the promise of a lucrative offer.

With a contract that runs until 2026, Barcelona are in command of the player’s future, but keeping him in a settled state promises to be a challenge if clubs continue to circle.

Man Utd are ready to turn up the pressure, with Mundo Deportivo indicating that the Old Trafford club has shown “strong interest” in the defender.

It is added that the Red Devils are ready to double Araujo’s wages in order to attract him to the club.

Barca face wage headache

Barcelona must reduce their wage bill to comply with Financial Fair Play, but while they are willing to listen to offers for a raft of first-team players, Araujo is one of the few that is considered to be untouchable by the board.

Their salary limit imposed by LaLiga stands at €270 million, but their actual figure stands at €405m, according to a September report from Sport.

Araujo, though, is not one of their big earners. It is estimated that he earns around €7m per year in wages before tax, not even putting him among the 10 highest earners at the club.

Instead, Barca would prefer to see some of their top earners depart. Raphinha is set to leave in the January transfer window, while Robert Lewandowski’s poor form has raised questions over his future.

Frenkie de Jong is Barcelona’s highest earner but Xavi has made it clear he does not want to see the former Man Utd target depart.

Nevertheless, the Camp Nou boss could see another unwelcome approach from the Old Trafford side towards one of his players, with Araujo very much in their sights.