‘Mundo Deportivo’, on its front page on Thursday, highlights that the Barcelona board is planning to offer some contract extensions soon. One of the interesting aspects that the newspaper mentions is that neither Ronald Araujo nor Frenkie de Jong have responded to offers from the ‘Cules’ board. In the past, proposals had already been leaked through the press but had not come to fruition either.
Both Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong are out of contract on 30th June 2026 with Barcelona, meaning that when the current season ends, they will be very close to being able to negotiate to leave as free agents. Extensions for both have come to the fore on a number of occasions in recent years and months and Thursday was no exception. They feature on the front page of ‘Mundo Deportivo’.
The Catalan newspaper warns that Joan Laporta’s board is planning to offer some extensions for players whose commitments expire either in 2025 or a year later. Mentioning the Uruguayan and the Dutchman, the newspaper claims that neither of them have responded to the approaches of the Barcelona board. They also agree that they are both injured and out of Hansi Flick’s squad for the upcoming matches.
Fernando Polo, a journalist with the newspaper, reported a few days ago that former Barca player Luis Suarez warned the Catalan side that his compatriot was weighing up Bayern Munich’s interest in him. What attracted him – or attracted him – to the Allianz Arena, beyond the money, is the medium and long term sporting approach with Vincent Kompany and guarantees of fighting for major titles.
Thanks to this warning from the ‘Pistolero’, who recently announced his international retirement, Barcelona moved quickly to let Araujo’s agents know of their intention to renew him, which brings the situation to its current scenario, that of no response from him and Frenkie de Jong. The Netherlands international, meanwhile, has refused to have surgery on his right ankle even if it would shorten his recovery time because he is not sure it would do much good.