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Barcelona plan to meet with Ronald Araujo‘s agents in the coming days to discuss a contract extension with Premier League clubs Liverpool and Manchester United monitoring the situation, sources have told ESPN.
Araujo, 23, is out of contract in 2023 and initial talks to renew his terms at Camp Nou have failed to yield an agreement.
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Barca want the Uruguay defender to stay at the club and will restart talks with his camp imminently in the hope of striking a deal.
Sources explain that Barca’s offer is worth around €5 million annually and the club remain confident Araujo will eventually renew his terms.
However, as first revealed by ESPN in November, Liverpool and United remain interested in Araujo and are ready to make their move if talks with Barca stall.
The money on the table in England is worth almost double Barca’s offer. Sources say both sides — Barca and the player — will need to give a little to reach an agreement.
Araujo’s preference is to remain at Barca. He first joined the club’s B team from Boston River in 2018 and was promoted to the first team in 2020.
He’s emerged as a key player over the last two seasons, playing as both a centre-back and a right-back under Xavi. In total he has made 72 appearances for the first team, scoring six goals, including the second in last weekend’s 4-0 win over Real Madrid in the Clasico.
Araujo is not the only Barca player whose contract is coming to an end. Gavi‘s terms are also due to expire in 2023, while Ousmane Dembele, Dani Alves and Sergi Roberto will all walk away for nothing this summer if they don’t sign new deals.