Reports of Newcastle United raiding Barcelona for two star players have been doing the rounds lately, and it seems that another of the Blaugrana's superstars is receiving massive transfer interest. According to making the rounds lately, another of the Blaugrana's superstars is receiving massive transfer interest. According to Mundo Deportivo, it has been revealed that Bayern Munich came in for Uruguayan center-back, and it has been revealed that Bayern Munich came in for Uruguayan centre-back Ronald Araujo in January.
The Germans' initial proposal was €70+20 M, which they improved to €80+10 M. However, the response from the club was the same: Araujo is not for sale. The young defender has been rock solid at the heart of the defense and is held in high regard by those in charge at Camp Nou.
Barca's take on Bayern's offer
The new Barcelona manager, Hansi Flick, is on the same page at the club and considers Araujo one of the squad's core players. However, Bayern's interest in him is worrying, with Mundo Deportivo revealing that Deco has already drawn a shortlist if the centre back departs this summer.
One of the names being seriously considered by Deco is Sevilla's young defender Loic Bade. The Frenchman, only 24 years old, has already started 33 times this season for Sevilla and was crucial in the latter half of the 2022/23 season as the La Liga side clinched their seventh Europa League title.
Bade arrived at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan from Rennes for 12M, and his contract runs until 2027 with a release clause of 60M. The Sevilla defender resembles Araujo in terms of energy and a strong presence at the back.
Another name that Barcelona is considering is Jonathan Tah. The German has been with Bayer Leverkusen for nine years and is coming off a scintillating season, winning the Bundesliga and the German Cup and losing only one game.
Ronald Araujo is the leader of the Catalan backline, and replacing him is not easy. The Barcelona board should try to resist attempts from the Bundesliga side as much as possible, so it remains to be seen if the club will have to deal with the headache of finding the Uruguayan's replacement.