Martinez's one-month absence could halt Araujo potential exit

Ronald Araujo's sporting prospects changed in a matter of hours on Sunday. During the build-up to the Spanish Super Cup final, ‘Mundo Deportivo’ revealed that he had decided to leave Barcelona for Juventus. Shortly after, Hansi Flick introduced him to the pitch for Inigo Martinez, who suffered a femoral biceps tear and, according to the information of Helena Condis in the ‘COPE’ channel, will be out for a month.

With the former Athletic player out until mid or even the end of February, his team-mate has a free hand to regain his place in the centre of defence. During his almost half a year on the sidelines due to an injury to the hamstring in his right leg, he saw the No 5 and Pau Cubarsi become Hansi Flick's first-choice defenders.

The Uruguayan was called up only to play no minutes against Borussia Dortmund, Leganes, Atletico Madrid and Athletic. He only took the pitch against Barbastro, a team in several levels below him, in the Copa del Rey, proving that, for his boss, he was in second place when it came to drawing his line-ups. This contrasted with a 23/24 season in which he played 37 times, 33 of them as a starter.

Ronald Araujo broke into the Barcelona first team during the 19-20 season and renewed his contract until 30th June 2026 in April 2022. The situation is ideal both for Juventus to make an interesting offer - the Catalan side are demanding between 50 and 70 million euros for him - and for the ‘Cules’ bosses and the player to give each other a few more months before making a decision which, with Inigo Martinez out of action, could be a hasty one.