Barcelona president confirms defender will leave on loan: “Something we are working on”

During an interview with ESPN, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has confirmed that young defender Julian Araujo will be leaving the club on loan this summer.

Araujo joined the Catalan giants in January earlier this year but was unable to make his debut for the club due to FIFA not authorising the transfer owing to delays in filing paperwork.

The 21-year-old Mexican international did finally get a chance to play in the Blaugrana colours in the post-season friendly against Vissel Kobe last month.

But, it appears that Araujo will have to wait a while for his competitive debut for Barcelona as he is now set to leave on loan.

Laporta confirms loan departure for Araujo

Speaking in the interview, the Barcelona president praised Araujo as a ‘great right-back’ while confirming that the club are working to move him on loan in the current transfer window.

“Araujo is spoken well of throughout the club. Great right-back who also has a great understanding with his teammates. He came from here from LA Galaxy and here he is,” Laporta said.

“He has spent time at Barça [academy in the US], he has the Barça stamp and he has felt well treated. He’s a great professional and has a long career.”

The president then added: “He will be loaned out for next season. It is something we are working on.”

No shortage of suitors for Araujo

With Araujo confirmed to be leaving on loan, it now remains to be seen where the Mexican international ends up.

The 21-year-old is attracting serious interest from newly-promoted La Liga club UD Las Palmas, with reports even suggesting that an agreement was already in place between the two teams.

More recently, CA Osasuna have entered the race to sign Araujo while FC Porto and Feyenoord are also interested in taking him on loan for a year.

The defender has not joined the rest of the Barcelona squad on their pre-season tour after his involvement in the Gold Cup and should soon secure a loan exit from the club.