Liverpool have confirmed the signing of defender Ronald Araujo from Barcelona. The deal is an initial loan for the 27-year-old, who signed a new contract with Barca until 2031 last year, and it also includes an option to buy for around £47.14m (€55m).
Liverpool are not paying Barcelona a loan fee and will cover the entirety of Araujo’s salary for the duration of the season-long loan. It is understood Araujo has taken a pay cut to facilitate the move.
Araujo, who will wear the No. 33 shirt, told Liverpoolfc.com: “I can’t wait to get started. I’m very, pleased.
“I’m excited to be here at this massive club with lots of history. I’m excited to meet my teammates, excited to get started playing, and I’m very motivated and really up for getting going.
It was the ideal move for me at this stage in my career. It was a move that was necessary for me to take. As soon as I heard that interest from Liverpool, everything went into action really, really quickly.
“As I say, I’m super-happy to be here and excited to get started. I’m glad about the interest and it was the right move at the right time.”
The Uruguay international, who did not play at the World Cup due to injury, is expected to train with his new team-mates this week.
Araujo will add to Andoni Iraola’s options at the heart of his defence following Ibrahima Konate’s departure to Real Madrid and fitness concerns over the inexperienced 21-year-old Jeremy Jacquet.
Jacquet, a summer signing from Rennes, has made fewer than 100 senior career appearances and has not featured in pre-season yet after missing the second half of last season following shoulder surgery.
Joe Gomez suffered a muscle injury in Liverpool’s opening pre-season game, while teenage centre-back Giovanni Leoni is still recovering from an ACL injury, leaving captain Virgil van Dijk as Liverpool’s only fully fit senior centre-back.
Araujo, who can play at right-back and centre-back, moved from his native Uruguay in 2018 and made his Barcelona debut the following October, going on to play more than 200 games for the LaLiga side.
He was named as one of the club captains following the departure of Marc-André ter Stegen in January but started only 11 La Liga matches for the Catalan giants last season after an extended break from football in November 2025 to recover from what he later revealed was depression.
Why the Araujo deal works for Liverpool…
Liverpool had not been actively seeking defensive reinforcements, their priority firmly on adding a wide forward, but the deal was a market opportunity that made sense for a number of reasons.
Ronald Araujo can play at centre-back or right-back, and, crucially, he was available on loan. The deal offered an appropriate solution to injury concerns that Liverpool consider more short-term.
Liverpool have already committed £60m to signing Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes, with a view to him partnering Virgil van Dijk at centre-back.
However, it remains to be seen whether he will be fit for the start of the season, as Liverpool are taking caution with his re-integration into competitive action following a shoulder injury that has kept him out since February.
A muscle problem for Joe Gomez has worsened the situation for new head coach Andoni Iraola, who admits he is slim on options at the back and will keep Gomez out for the Premier League opener against Newcastle.
Araujo arriving on a temporary move alleviates that injury headache and adds a layer of experience to Liverpool’s backline that is sorely missing. He has played more than 200 games for Barcelona after all.
There are understandable concerns around whether Araujo can turn around his struggles with form and fitness. Liverpool are not short on defenders with patchy injury records.
Liverpool are taking on a deal that carries some risk in that regard. But there is also a potentially big reward if Araujo does rediscover his best form, thanks to the option to buy included in the deal, which is worth around £47m.
At the peak of his powers, Araujo’s value was around double that figure. Liverpool will hope to see him at his best in the Premier League, a division that seems well suited to his strengths.
