Barcelona working to register key defender’s contract on July 1, calm over situation

While Barcelona managed to get the registration of Gavi’s new contract over the line in January, the situation of Ronald Araujo and his deal remains unresolved.

Barcelona had extended the contracts of Gavi and Araujo last year, but were unable to register their new deals with La Liga because of Financial Fair Play problems.

After a battle with the Spanish top flight, the Catalan giants did manage to complete Gavi’s registration on the January transfer deadline day.

But, Araujo’s new first-team contract is yet to be officially registered with La Liga.

However, according to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are calm over the Uruguayan international’s situation and are working towards completing his registration on July 1, when the summer transfer window officially opens for business.

Araujo signed a new contract with Barcelona in April last year. The 23-year-old centre-back penned a new deal that runs until the summer of 2026 and is protected by an enormous €1 billion release clause.

While the contract was agreed upon and signed almost ten months ago, Barça are yet to finalise its registration. However, they are not worried about it having an effect on the defender’s future at the club.

As per the report, when signing the contract, Barcelona and Araujo came to an understanding that the club would be given a margin until August 2023 to register it, given the club’s iffy financial situation.

And the club are working towards ensuring that the defender’s first-team contract registration is done on July 1.

Araujo has emerged as one of Barcelona’s most important players this season under Xavi. The Uruguayan international has been key to the club posting such an impressive defensive record this season, forging a solid partnership with summer signings Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen.

While Barcelona are calm over his situation, it would be in the best interest of all parties to resolve the matter at the earliest possible.