Joan Laporta ‘fearful’ Barcelona star will join Real Madrid as Liverpool ‘willing’ to offer €40m – report

Barcelona president Joan Laporta is afraid that Real Madrid will make a move for Ronald Araujo and is ready to sell him to Liverpool, as a long-term replacement for Virgil van Dijk, according to a report in Spain, as TEAMtalk analyses whether Xabi Alonso could try to sign the defender.

Despite signing Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth earlier this summer, Madrid are on the hunt for a new centre-back, with Liverpool star Ibrahima Konate and Arsenal ace William Saliba firmly on Los Blancos’s radar. Alonso used a three-man defence at Bayer Leverkusen and also changed to a flat back-four when needed, and the former Liverpool and Madrid midfielder wants another top-class centre-back for tactical flexibility.

With Konate out of contract at Liverpool at the end of next season, Madrid are aiming to get a deal done for €25m (£21.8m, $29.3m), according to AS, but the Premier League champions are still confident that the defender will sign a new deal and extend his stay at Anfield.

Madrid are also reported to have made an offer to Arsenal for William Saliba, but the France international centre-back has publicly said that he hopes to sign a new contract with the north London club and stay at the Emirates Stadium.

Amid obstacles to sign Konate or Saliba, Barcelona ‘fear’ that Madrid manager Alonso will turn his attention to Araujo, according to Real Madrid-centric news outlet Defensa Central.

Barcelona president Laporta is reportedly ready to cash in on Araujo, and the Spanish champions are fearful that ‘he could end up at Real Madrid’ and cause another major controversy like Luis Figo did back in 2000 when he left the Blaugrana for arch-rivals Los Blancos.

The report has claimed that that is why Laporta ‘wants’ Araujo ‘to go to another club’, adding that Liverpool are ‘willing’ to pay more than €40million (£34.7m, $46.3m) for the Uruguay international defender, who can play as a centre-back or as a right-back.

Defensa Central has suggested that Liverpool view Araujo as a long-term replacement for Virgil van Dijk, who recently signed a new contract with the Premier League champions but is now 34.

Araujo has been on the books of Barcelona since 2018 and is under contract with the Spanish and European giants until the summer of 2031.

Due to injury issues, the 26-year-old made 25 appearances for Barcelona last season, scoring two goals and giving two assists in the process.

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Could Ronald Araujo leave Barcelona for Real Madrid?

It is very unlikely that Madrid will make a move to sign Araujo from Barcelona in the summer transfer window.

Madrid and Barcelona are bitter rivals, and Los Blancos president Florentino Perez and manager Alonso will be fully aware that Laporta is not going to make it easy for them to sign the Uruguayan star.

Moreover, there have not been any credible reports in the Spanish media that state that the Uruguay international is on Madrid’s radar.

Direct transfers between Madrid and Barcelona are not common, and it is very unlikely that Araujo himself will entertain a move to the Santiago Bernabeu given the repercussions he will face from the fans of the Catalan giants.

Moreover, Barcelona may not sell Araujo in the summer transfer window, with the defender signing a new deal only in January 2025.

In June, Barcelona sporting director Deco told La Vanguardia: “What we want is to improve the team, not make it worse. And if we lose an important player, we’re making it worse.

“Ronald has a contract, he’s renewed his contract, and he’s endured a difficult season, with unfair criticism.

“He’s one of the best center-backs in the world. Leaving isn’t in Ronald’s plans. He wants to return to his best.

“We have five central defenders, and one of them has to go due to an excess of players. The coach has to make decisions.

“As Hansi (Flick) says, ‘decision is job.’ The coach is happy; he’s in a nice vacation spot like Formentera, and we’re on the same page.”

Barcelona vice-president Rafa Yuste said this week about Araujo: “We’re very happy with Ronald [Araujo] and all the players who are here.”

Moreover, Laporta himself recently told Mundo Deportivo: “A departure like Araujo? We will try to avoid any painful departures. I won’t specify player names, as they all belong to Barcelona, and we are happy with all of them.

“But there will be some adjustments because there is a surplus in some positions. This matter is left to the coach and Deco.

“Selling key players would cause the team to lose this spirit that has captivated Barcelona fans, we want to preserve this spirit and this magic.”

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Spanish sources have revealed which club Madrid forward Rodrygo prefers to join amid interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, while a stay at the Santiago Bernabeu has not been completely ruled out.

William Saliba is not the only Arsenal player that Madrid are keen on, with a Spanish report claiming that the European giants have an eye on another of the Gunners’ stars.

Meanwhile, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is still keen on a Madrid star despite being knocked back in his approach in the summer of 2024.

The last five players to move from Barcelona to Real Madrid

By Samuel Bannister

Javier Saviola (2007): The most recent player to move from Barcelona to Real Madrid (or vice versa), Saviola moved on a free transfer in the summer of 2007. The Argentine attacker had scored 70 goals for Barcelona, but he only managed five for Madrid, where he was rarely a regular starter and left after two years.

Luis Figo (2000): The most high-profile example of a player switching between these two clubs, Figo became the most expensive player in history when Madrid activated his €62m buyout clause to lure him from Barcelona in one of football’s most controversial transfers. The Portuguese star won the Ballon d’Or later that year, and infamously, a couple of years later, a pig’s head would be thrown at him at Camp Nou. The time he spent at either club was about equal; over five seasons each, he got 45 goals from 249 games for Barcelona and 58 goals from 245 games for Madrid.

Michael Laudrup (1994): Laudrup was 30 when Madrid bought him from Barcelona in a €9.6m move. His five years at Barcelona had included 55 goals, but he only stayed at Madrid for two years, in which he scored 15 times. But the move did allow him to win LaLiga for a fifth consecutive time in the 1994-95 campaign after ending his Barcelona spell with four in a row.

Luis Milla (1990): Not since the 1960s had a Spanish player moved from Barcelona to Real Madrid until Milla did in 1990 – and none have since him either. A product of the former’s academy, he actually ended up playing more for Madrid. A defensive midfielder, he earned more than 200 appearances for his new club and won La Liga twice after his move, which came on the back of a contract dispute with Johan Cruyff.

Bernd Schuster (1988): Barcelona brought Schuster to La Liga in 1980 and he went on to complete eight seasons with the club. The German midfielder then joined Madrid for a two-year stint, sandwiched in between a spell at their next biggest rivals, since he joined Atletico Madrid afterwards. Schuster later returned to Real Madrid as their head coach to win La Liga in the 2007-08 season.