Ronaldo Araujo refused Man United's mega-money offer, keen on staying at Barcelona

Posted Saturday, December 09, 2023 by onefootball.com

Manchester United followed up their weekend debacle with a much-improved showing against Chelsea, clinching all three points with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday.

The attacking part of their game worked a treat thanks to the manager's bold selection calls but the finishing remains a problem as seen from the xG stats post-match.

However, the visitors could have scored three goals of their own, with some lax finishing and decent goalkeeping from Andre Onana preventing that from happening.

Araujo interest

United's defence has been shaky this season with the team conceding the second-most goals in the group stages of the Champions League among 32 teams.

The manager hardly ever having the luxury of picking his strongest XI due to injury has been an issue. Lisandro Martinez's absence has been a major blow.

As per Spanish publication SPORT, United still retain interest in Ronald Araujo of Barcelona but it will be a much more difficult task to convince him to come to Old Trafford after he signed a contract extension until 2026 last season.

The Uruguayan was chosen as the leader of the defence ahead of the 2022 summer window.

However, the 24-year-old decided to turn down the mega-money offer from United, opting to stay on at the Camp Nou and his stance remains the same.

Refused United's mega offer

His stats for the current season are quite impressive with the Uruguay international helping his team keep six clean-sheets in 13 games across all competitions.

"Araujo had an astronomical and firm offer on the table from Manchester United to become the leader of his defense, but he said 'no'. And he did it months before signing his long-term relationship with Barca.

"His current attitude remains the same and, despite the fact that United's interest remains or that Bayern wants him no matter what, the Uruguayan has decided not to move from the Camp Nou."

United will need to look elsewhere and have been linked with the likes of Jean-Clair Todibo, Goncalo Inacio and Marc Guehi. It will be interesting to see which centre-back departs the club and who ends up coming in.