Ronald Araujo made his senior Barça debut on 6 October 2019, when he was 20 years old and with Ernesto Valverde as coach. The rest is history, and following this Saturday’s game with Celta Vigo, the Uruguayan now has 100 league games under his belt.
In the first of those matches, he came on for the last quarter of an hour against Sevilla at Spotify Camp Nou. It was already 3-0 by that time, and the Catalans went on to take it 4-0, so it was a relatively placid introduction for the centre back to football at the highest level.
Araujo has also played 39 games in other competition since then, and has become so consolidated that despite his youth he is now one of the four captains. With his rapid pace, ability to track back, and utter dedication to the blaugrana cause, he has been an automatic choice for all the coaches he has played under, including Xavi Hernández.
The Uruguayan defender reached his century in the game against Celta in which he played 45 minutes before he was replaced by Iñigo Martínez.
Seven goals
Araujo’s first goal for the team was in a 2-2 draw with Valencia, and although it is by no means his principal responsibility, he has added a further six to his tally since. The most recent was the only goal of a 1-0 win away to Real Sociedad, striking the ball brilliantly home with his head following a cross from Gündoğan. Want a reminder of how it happened? Here’s the video…
Almost a year since making 100 in all competitions
The Granada game may be his 100th in La Liga, but counting all competitions, Araujo already hit the landmark figure some time ago, That was against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Europa League.
His total breakdown of appearances is as follows:
Liga 100
Champions League 13
Europa League 7
Copa del Rey 12
Spanish Super Cup 7