Barcelona extends 23-yr-old defender's contract until 2026 with €1 billion release clause

La Liga giants FC Barcelona have decided to extend the contract of their central defender Ronald Araujo through the end of the 2025-26 season on Tuesday. The 23-year-old Uruguay international is set to sign a new contract on April 29 at Camp Nou, in a closed event. Ronald Araujo started off his professional cricketing career in 2016 by making his senior debut for Retistas in the  Uruguayan Second Division and was signed up by Boston River, courtesy of his performance in his country. 

After playing for one year in Montevideo and gaining significant experience, he joined Barcelona B in August 2018. He played 44 matches for Barca B from 2018 to 2020 and later joined the main team in 2020. Since then, he has made regular appearances for the team and has represented the Camp Nou-based team in a total of 78 games. The fact that the buy-out clause in Araujo’s new agreement with Barca is set at 1 billion Euros, rightly describes the impact he has as a player.

“FC Barcelona and the player Ronald Araujo have reached an agreement to renew his contract until 30 June 2026. The buy-out clause stipulated is set at €1bn,” said Barcelona in an official statement on their website. He is proved to be fast enough to keep up with the speediest strikers and is highly acclaimed as the most talented young defender of Barcelona. He currently shares playing time with veteran Gerard Pique and Eric Garcia. 

What is next for Barcelona in La Liga?

The La Liga giants are understood to have prioritized his contract extension in order to solidify the future of their defense. Interestingly, Araujo has also scored six goals in 78 appearances for Barcelona. He has scored four of those goals in the 2021-22 season, which displays his talent in defence as well as in scoring goals.

Having said that Barcelona currently sit second in the La Liga 2021-22 season 15-points behind table leader Real Madrid. Barca have won 18, drawn nine and lost six games in the tournament and are levelled on points with Sevilla. With five more games left this season, Barca would be looking to gain the maximum points and reduce the gap with Madrid to become the Spanish champions.