FC Barcelona central defender Ronald Araujo spoke on his future after the Catalans beat Napoli 3-1 in their last 16 second leg tie to advance to the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in four years.
Araujo has been linked with a move away from his club since 2018, after Mundo Deportivo reported on interest Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich have in him.
The same paper later revealed that the Uruguayan would wait until the end of the season to decide whether he would entertain a switch or not, and added that cash-strapped Barca would be tempted to listen to offers north of $100 million.
After a fine performance where he kept the first leg’s goalscorer Victor Osimhen at bay, Araujo said in the mixed zone that “my future depends on the club”.
“Everyone knows I’m very happy here at Barca. And I’m very grateful to Xavi,” he added, in reference to his head coach that will step down on June 30 but admitted he would have been fired were his men defeated.
“We are very happy with the qualification, we played a great game at home. The support of our fans was very key from the first minute,” Araujo said of Culers, who played a great part in the La Liga holders achieving a 4-2 aggregate win.
Araujo’s dance partner for the match, and key games since 2024, was 17-year-old Pau Cubarsi who celebrated “one of the best days of my life” which ended with him getting the MVP award.
“He’s a great player, but the defensive pivot is very important to us,” Araujo pointed out.
“We had Busi [Sergio Busquets], now there’s [Andreas] Christensen. He’s the one who sets the tempo for us in front of the defence,” Araujo pointed out about the Dane.
Araujo and Co will now have their eyes on Friday’s draw, which will reveal who Barca plays in a maiden UCL quarter-final since losing 8-2 to eventual winners Bayern Munich at the same stage in Lisbon back in 2020.
From a league perspective, Barca is next in action on Sunday when it travels to the Wanda Metropolitano to take on a possible last eight continental foe in Atletico Madrid.