LONDON: Liverpool are set to sign Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo on a season-long loan, sources have told ESPN.
The agreement also includes an option to make the transfer permanent in the future.
New Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola is looking for a defender to strengthen the team’s defence after Joe Gomez, Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet are still recovering from injuries.
Araujo, who is also Barcelona’s captain, plays as a central defender but is also capable of playing at right-back, making him an important addition for Liverpool who are still missing Conor Bradley due to injury.
The Uruguayan has made 213 appearances for Barcelona’s first team and was part of Uruguay’s squad for this summer’s World Cup, although he was not selected by Marcelo Bielsa’s team.
The weaknesses of Liverpool’s defensive options became apparent during the club’s pre-season tour of the United States when captain Virgil van Dijk was not included in the squad after a challenging 2025-26 season.
Liverpool also lost experience in defence after Ibrahima Konate left the club on a free transfer to join Real Madrid at the end of last season.
Araujo agreed to the offer from the Premier League club after realising that his playing opportunities under Barcelona coach Hansi Flick were not as expected.
The 27-year-old joined Barcelona in 2018 from Uruguayan club Boston River for a transfer fee of 1.5 million euros plus an additional 3 million euros based on certain clauses.
He was promoted to the first team in October 2020 and became a key pillar of the defense before being appointed as one of the team captains.
However, his role has begun to diminish since Flick’s arrival, in addition to being affected by injury problems.
Currently, Barcelona has several central defensive options including Pau Cubarsi, Eric Garcia, Gerard Martin and Andreas Christensen.