Barcelona star Ronald Araujo set to receive Spanish passport today

Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo will be receiving his Spanish passport and thus be granted dual citizenship today, reports Gerard Romero.

Araujo arrived at Barcelona in the summer of 2018, joining from Boston River in his homeland of Uruguay. After initially spending time with the club’s reserve team, the 23-year-old was given his first-team breakthrough in October 2019 by Ernesto Valverde.

But it was during Ronald Koeman’s tenure that the Uruguayan international consolidated his position in the senior setup. He has grown into a pivotal part of the Blaugrana setup under Xavi and is seen as a leader of the defensive unit at Spotify Camp Nou.

So far, Araujo has made 89 appearances for Barcelona, scoring six goals and registering one assist. Even though he is a centre-back, the defender has done the job out wide at right-back when asked to by the manager.

As per La Liga rules, teams are allowed to have only three non-EU players on their roster. And Araujo was occupying one of those slots for Barcelona.

But once he receives his Spanish passport later today, the 23-year-old will no longer be counted as a non-EU player, freeing up a spot for the Blaugrana.

Franck Kessie is the other non-EU player on Barcelona’s books, although he is registered as an EU player under the Cotonou Agreement.

It means that once Araujo is granted dual citizenship, the Catalan giants will have all three non-EU slots in their squad free.

The 23-year-old has just recently recovered from a thigh injury that needed surgery and is in line to return to action when Barcelona take on RCD Espanyol in the Catalan derby on Saturday at Camp Nou.