Ronald Araujo’s agents have been spotted meeting with Barcelona sporting director Deco to discuss his situation at Barcelona.
The defender has not played for the club since being sent off in the Champions League defeat to Chelsea last week. He was ruled out of the win against Alaves and won’t play against Atletico Madrid in midweek either.
Hansi Flick was grilled on the defender’s absence at a pre-match press conference and said only: “Araujo isn’t ready to play yet. We’ve been working on Raphinha; he only did the rondo and then stopped. I’m confident he can play the whole match. Ronald isn’t ready; it’s a private matter, and I don’t want to say more. I would ask you to respect their wishes; that’s all I can and will say.
Araujo has reportedly been “really affected” by his red card and, acccording to Mundo Deportivo and Sport, his agents have now “asked the club for some time to recover mentally and psychologically from the stressful situation he is experiencing.”
The club are said to have agreed to the request “because they believe it’s best for the player to regain his psychological and mental well-being.” There’s no word yet on how long Araujo will be out for, with the report saying the request for time off is “indefinite.”
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has already offered his support to Araujo, saying the criticism he has received “isn’t fair,” and that the club “are with him.”
