Manchester United move to sign the 25-year-old player this summer transfer window

There is a report from Spain that Manchester United is trying even harder to sign Ronald Araujo by giving the defender “double” the salary he makes at Barcelona.

A daily sports newspaper in Catalonia called SPORT says the Red Devils have put “a lot of pressure in the last few hours” to get the Uruguayan player to leave Spain for England, but he still wants to stay with Barcelona.

The center-back’s deal with Barcelona ends in 2026, so this summer would be their last chance to get a high transfer fee for him.

Barcelona wants to keep their star defender and captain, so they have offered the 25-year-old a new contract with better terms than his current one. However, his agents have not responded.

The people in charge at Barcelona want to find an answer by June 30, and it’s becoming more and more likely that they will have to “negotiate” Araujo’s departure this summer if he doesn’t agree to an extension soon.

The Spanish giants are still having a very hard time financially, and Araujo’s sale—which would take a bid of more than €75 million—would help the club’s finances a lot.

From United’s point of view, the story says that executives at Old Trafford are waiting to see how the contract talks between Araujo and Barcelona go.

They will only make a move if these fail and the player lets them know he is open to an approach from the Red Devils.

According to SPORT, United would be happy to pay Araujo a lot of money to join the INEOS revolution at Old Trafford. Salary Sport says they would “double” his present salary with Barcelona, which is thought to be around £125,000.

As Raphael Varane had just left Erik ten Hag’s team, Araujo would be taking his place. Varane was making more than £300,000 a week, so United’s pay bill would have plenty of room for this move.

The possible transfer price of more than £63 million would put a lot of strain on a budget that is already very tight because of the Premier League’s profits and sustainability rules (PSR). However, Araujo is the kind of world-class player that it is worth spending a lot of money on.

Even more so when you think about his age, his high-level experience, his ability to lead, and the fact that Old Trafford needs exactly this kind of center back.