Liverpool transfer news: Three reasons why Ronald Araujo leaving Barcelona for Anfield should not excite supporters

Liverpool are reportedly on the brink of completing the notable loan signing of Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo.

As captain of the La Liga champions, the 27-year-old is valued for his leadership and stature at one of the biggest clubs in the world.

However, despite seven years at Camp Nou, there is an argument that Araujo has not fulfilled his true potential in Spain.

Although he has three La Liga titles and two Copa del Rey crowns on his CV, Araujo is without a Champions League trophy and injury prevented him from earning any minutes for Uruguay at the recent World Cup.

Here, Sports Mole reveals why Liverpool fans should err on the side of caution when it comes to expecting Araujo to be the experienced difference-maker at the back that they were anticipating.

Araujo disciplinary record

Being cautioned on just 25 occasions in 130 starts and 40 substitute outings in La Liga is respectable enough for a player of Araujo's profile.

He has also never had more than six yellow cards in a single domestic campaign, but his disciplinary record is far more concerning when you delve a little deeper.

Araujo has collected five red cards across his 213 appearances in a Barcelona shirt, two of which have come in the first half of high-profile Champions League fixtures.

In 2023-24, when Barcelona held a 4-2 advantage on aggregate over Paris Saint-Germain heading into the 29th minute of the second leg of their quarter-final at Camp Nou, Araujo clumsily brought down Bradley Barcola when the Frenchman was heading into the penalty area. PSG scored four times from the 40th minute onwards to progress.

Last November, Araujo got himself sent off for two yellow cards inside 44 minutes of a League Phase fixture against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The second caution came through Araujo needlessly clattering Marc Cucurella when he was still 40 yards from goal.

Criticism for that red card led to Araujo taking a month-long mental-health break and he subsequently returned to replace Marc-Andre ter Stegen as captain and help Barcelona win the La Liga title.

However, his hot-headedness in big games should not go unnoticed, and the hope will be that Virgil van Dijk can act as a calming influence.

Luis Enrique sees Araujo as weak link

With back-to-back Champions League trophies, it is difficult to dispute that Luis Enrique is not the best manager in the world right now.

A documentary in 2024 revealed that the Spaniard was less than impressed with Araujo's ability on the ball, with instructions given to his PSG players to target that perceived weakness.

Luis Enrique insinuated that PSG would capitalise if they blocked passing lines available to Araujo.

While that is merely an opinion, Araujo may struggle in similar scenarios in the faster-paced Premier League.

Furthermore, with the pace of Van Dijk not what it once was, Liverpool can ill-afford for Araujo to make errors with the ball when they will find it increasingly difficult to recover.

Concern over Araujo availability?

Throughout his entire career, Araujo has only made more than 21 starts in a league campaign on one occasion, that being in 2021-22 when he featured in the first XI 25 times.

That season is also the only time when he has played more than 26 times when including substitute appearances.

While that can be put down to rotation as well as his injury and disciplinary record, Araujo has only ever reach 40 appearances across all competitions in a single season once in his entire career.

Iraola may see the positives in Araujo making 100 outings across the last three campaigns, including 38 during 2025-26.

Nevertheless, the evidence is there that Liverpool fans should not expect Araujo to replicate the availability of Ibrahima Konate, who played 93 times during his last two seasons at Anfield and missed just two Premier League fixtures during the most recent campaign.