Liverpool sign Ronald Araujo on season-long loan from Barcelona
Liverpool signed Uruguay centre-back Ronald Araujo on a season-long loan from Barcelona on 10 August 2026, the club confirmed. The 27-year-old, who can also operate at right-back, joins the Reds with an option to buy.
Araujo moved to Barcelona from Uruguayan club Boston River in 2018 and has made more than 200 appearances for the Spanish side. He has won three La Liga titles and two Copa del Rey trophies with Barca and was given the captaincy in January following the loan departure of goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Araujo is under contract at the Nou Camp until 2031 but started only 11 league games last season as Barcelona were crowned Spanish champions for the 29th time.
On his arrival at Liverpool Araujo said: "I'm excited to be here at this massive club with lots of history. I'm excited to meet my team-mates, excited to get started playing, and I'm very motivated and really up for getting going," he said. "It was the ideal move for me at this stage in my career. I think it was a move that was necessary for me to take. "As soon as I heard that interest from Liverpool, everything went into action really, really quickly."
Liverpool have moved to bolster their defence after France international Ibrahima Konate left the club to join Real Madrid on a free transfer. Araujo's opportunities at Barcelona were limited under manager Hansi Flick, who arrived in May 2024, as Spaniards Gerard Martin and Pau Cubarsi became the preferred central defensive pairing.
Araujo was granted a leave of absence in December to prioritise his mental health following a sending-off in the Champions League defeat by Chelsea, and he spent time with his family in Uruguay. He returned to training in January and scored on his first start since the break in Barcelona's Copa del Rey quarter-final win at Albacete a month later; speaking to Mundo Deportivo he said he "had not been well for a while", adding: "I had anxiety for 18 months and it became depression."
Spanish commentator Alvaro Romeo reflected on Araujo's previous form, saying three years ago he was "a colossus" during Barca's title-winning run. "He was phenomenal in defence and the best defender in La Liga by far," Romeo told BBC Radio 5 Live. "But then after he got injuries, a little bit of absent-mindedness, in some moments he lost concentration. "If he can regain that, which is not impossible in my opinion, then he's going to be a very good asset for Liverpool."
Internationally, Araujo made his Uruguay debut in 2020 and has been capped 27 times; he was part of Marcelo Bielsa's squad at this summer's World Cup but did not play in the tournament. Former Liverpool striker and Uruguay team-mate Darwin Nunez posted on X that Araujo was joining a "great club" and added: "I'm deeply glad that you can feel what the affection and support of the Liverpool fans is like. "They are special and they're going to make you feel it that way, now you're a red too."
Liverpool's centre-back options have been affected by injuries and departures, with Joe Gomez, new signing Jeremy Jacquet and Italian teenager Giovanni Leoni all continuing recoveries. Jacquet, 21, officially joined in a £60m deal from Rennes last month but has not featured in pre-season because of a minor knee issue; new head coach Andoni Iraola told LFCTV Jacquet "should be fine" to be included in Liverpool's double-header against Como on Sunday. Iraola paired 35-year-old captain Virgil van Dijk with Austrian teenager Ifeanyi Ndukwe in the 3-2 friendly defeat by Monaco at Anfield at the weekend; Ndukwe, who is 6ft 6in (1.98m), became a Liverpool player this summer after agreeing a move from Austria Vienna in January, and the 18-year-old has impressed in pre-season but does not yet qualify for a UK work permit.
Liverpool begin their Premier League campaign away at Newcastle United on Sunday, 23 August at 16:30 BST.
