Africa-Press – Ghana. Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo has rejected the club’s first offer of a new contract, putting Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool on high alert.
The 22-year-old has been one of Barcelona’s best defenders this year but has not signed a new contract since he joined the first team in October 2020, meaning he remains on a comparatively meagre salary.
United, Liverpool and Chelsea are all tracking the situation, with all three more than happy to pay him what he deserves if he joins in the summer, when his Barcelona contract will have just 12 months left to run.
The belief is that Araujo wants to stay at Barcelona and the club definitely want to keep him, but Marca note that the first round of contract talks have ended without a positive resolution.
Araujo has rejected Barcelona’s opening offer, believing that he deserves more money as a permanent starter.
It’s stressed that these negotiations were amicable and both parties still want to get an extension sorted. Araujo wants to stay at Camp Nou and is even prepared to drop his demands slightly to help Barcelona re-sign him, but he does not want to steer too far away from what he believes he is worth.
A new round of contract talks are expected to start soon enough, but Araujo has made it clear that Barcelona must increase their offer and prove just how much they want to keep him.
Sorting out Araujo’s contract is now one of Barcelona’s top priorities. Sporting director Mateu Alemany is pushing for things to be resolved as soon as possible as he is well aware of Araujo’s importance to the team, both now and in the future.
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