Barcelona confirm new five-year contract for 25-year-old stalwart

Barcelona have been busy on the contract front in recent months, and it has now been confirmed that a major renewal has been sealed. A couple of weeks ago, it had been certain that Ronald Araujo would be leaving the club that he has been with since 2018, but now, he has extended his stay.

It was confirmed on Thursday that Araujo had put pen to paper on a new Barcelona contract. The 25-year-old defender has signed a five-and-a-half-year deal, which ensured that he will be on the Catalans’ books until 2031.

Earlier on Thursday, video footage captured the moment that Araujo arrived at Barcelona’s offices to finalise his new deal. He had been strongly linked with Juventus earlier in the winter transfer window, and reports had even stated that he had asked to leave the club. However, he will no longer be going anywhere.

Barcelona sporting director Deco has been credited with convincing Araujo to stay, after the pair held crunch talks last week. The Uruguayan international was promised that he would receive a significant wage increase, while his release clause has also been lowered from €1bn to a more achievable figure, although it has yet to be known what that exactly is.

The news of Araujo’s renewal is excellent for Barcelona. Although he had struggled to get into the team after returning from a long-term injury absence, he is viewed as being a vitally important player. He and Pau Cubarsi are seen as the nailed centre-back partnership for many years to come, and they can now stay together for an extended time.

Now that Araujo’s saga is over, Barcelona will move on to further deals. They are hoping to finalise renewals for Pedri and Gavi in the coming weeks, while Frenkie de Jong – who is also out of contract in 2026 – could also have his situation addressed before the end of the season.