Published: 17:00 BST, 11 August 2026 | Updated: 17:00 BST, 11 August 2026
If Liverpool fans have had one gripe this summer, it is that their long search for a Mohamed Salah replacement has dragged on and on, with drawn-out sagas for first Yan Diomande and now Bradley Barcola.
But as for the two players they have signed, it's been as easy as uno, dos, tres. Spanish World Cup winner Victor Munoz arrived for £34.5million from Osasuna in June, and yesterday it was the turn of Barcelona captain Ronald Araujo.
It is understood the Reds only made contact with the Uruguay international’s camp last Wednesday. From that point on, Araujo only had one thing on his mind: make this move happen.
Araujo spoke to new Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola and was immediately sold on the move, a view furthered by talks with sporting director Richard Hughes. This was an opportunity he could not pass up – he has always wanted to play in the Premier League.
He wanted the move so much, in fact, that he took a pay cut to make it happen. While Liverpool will cover his salary in full, Araujo will not receive as much as he did at Barcelona.Â
If the season-long loan goes well, the Reds have agreed a ÂŁ47.1million fee to make it permanent.
Ronald Araujo's loan move from Barcelona will help to ease Liverpool's defensive crisis
The versatile Araujo can cover at both centre-half and full back and will likely be thrown straight in by Andoni Iraola
There have been reservations among some fans about Araujo's ability and reliability but the positives of this move far outweigh the negatives.
First, his arrival alleviates a gaping hole in Liverpool’s back line – one that Iraola had identified as a problem area given a multitude of defensive injuries.
Just eight minutes into the first pre-season friendly, Joe Gomez limped off with a muscle injury and he will not be available for the beginning of the Premier League season.
Young duo Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni also remain sidelined, while Virgil van Dijk is 35 and only contracted to the end of the coming season. Losing Ibrahima Konate, the experienced French defender who joined Real Madrid for nothing, was a major blow.
Jacquet is set to resume full training this week, it is understood, while Leoni is in the final stage of rehabilitation after missing the best part of a year with a ligament problem. Jacquet has also not played since February so, even if the pair were fit, they will need a bedding-in period.
Araujo, who has played 213 times for Barcelona and won LaLiga on three occasions, can help the duo settle slowly rather than be thrown in at the deep end.Â
