Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo is eager to reunite with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Lionel Messi. The Uruguay international has claimed that he would sign Messi if he were the club’s sporting director.
Araujo played alongside the Argentine talisman in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons before the latter joined PSG on a free transfer in last year’s summer transfer window.
He has since been linked with a return to Catalonia on multiple occasions, and the rumor mill is now in full drive as Messi enters the final year of his contract with the Ligue 1 giants.
“If I were the sporting director, I would sign Messi for Barcelona,” Araujo said (via Barca Blaugranes) about the legendary attacker’s potential return to the Catalan giants.
Since being promoted to the club’s first team in the 2019/20 season, the Uruguayan has made 89 appearances for them across competitions.
He started the ongoing season as among Xavi’s first-choice centre-backs but an adductors evulsion issue has restricted him to just seven appearances in all competitions.
Messi, on the other hand, spent 21 years with the Blaugrana, totalling 778 appearances for their senior side. He scored an eye-catching 672 goals for them and also provided 303 assists.
Xavi is trying to bring Barcelona’s philosophy back: Ronaldo Araujo
Araujo also opened up on manager Xavi’s time at the helm of affairs at the club. He highlighted how the former midfielder is trying to bring back ‘Barcelona’s philosophy’ from his playing days with the Spanish side.
“We have been working with him for some time. At the beginning it was a little difficult, because he comes with new ideas, with things that were not being done in recent years here,” he said.
“He is trying to bring back Barcelona’s philosophy and I think that now is when the fruits of the work we have been doing since his arrival are being reaped.
“When Xavi arrived, I had to continue learning, because when I went up to the first team, the Barcelona philosophy of playing with three midfielders had been lost. With the arrival of the coach, I continued to grow and today I feel very comfortable.”
After finishing 13 points behind La Liga champions Real Madrid last season, the Catalan giants are currently leading the league table this term and are level on points with Los Blancos. The two sides will meet in the season’s first El Clasico on Sunday, October 16.
