Man Utd or Bayern? Why Araujo should jump ship amid Barcelona crisis

Tom Weber

• Updated: 15 Dec 2023 06:38 GMT
• 4 min read

The current Barcelona crisis is making it clear that it might be time for Ronald Araujo to move on.

The Balugrana are in turmoil. Head coach Xavi, who led them to the LaLiga title last term, is being questioned and said to be under pressure after an embarrassing 3-2 loss to Royal Antwerp. It seems that Barcelona's hope that they were on the verge of regaining their spot among Europe's elite after their championship was unfounded.

Indeed, it is becoming clear that some of the Blaugrana's stars have reached a dead end, chief among them Ronald Araujo. The Uruguayan is one of Europe's best defenders, but if he has any desire of winning the Champions League anytime soon, he will need to depart, however tough it may be for him.

The 24-year-old continues to be linked with Bayern Munich, who are obsessed with the idea of bringing him in, while Barcelona naturally want him to extend his deal. Man Utd have also entered the conversation and it's not hard to see why the Red Devils would be interested. Raphael Varane could depart - for free - a year sooner than expected and Araujo would, according to data experts SciSports, easily walk into Erik ten Hag's defence and be the club's best player.

Aurajo's next club

Therefore, it seems quite sensible for Man Utd to make a move for him, but it is not that straightforward. Ability-wise Araujo would excel in the Premier League - but not on the red half of Manchester. While he would be Man Utd's best player, SciSports do not believe that he would be a good fit for them - or that they would be a good fit for him.

Using SciSports' Career Advice tool, we can see that Man Utd only have a Club Fit rating of 64. In other words, United don't crack the top 30 of his best-suited clubs in Europe's top five leagues, which is quite the feat.

His best option would, unsurprisingly, be Bayern Munich with a rating of 83. The Bavarians are said to be prepared to shell out whatever it takes to sign him and Araujo - and cash-strapped Barcelona - should seriously consider the offer. Other clubs where the Uruguayan would excel are Inter, hated rivals Real Madrid, Liverpool and Man City.