Barcelona are looking to sell more first-team players in the coming weeks, but the chances of one of them leaving the club have now dropped significantly.
Barcelona will need to raise money and reduce wage costs in order to return to La Liga’s 1:1 rule, which will allow new signings to be registered for the new season. Players such as Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo have been mentioned as possible candidates to leave the club, but when it comes to the latter, most now believe he will stay.
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Earlier this year, Araujo signed a new contract with Barcelona after changing his mind about seeking a transfer. As part of that deal, his buyout clause in the first two weeks of the summer transfer window was reduced to €60 million to entice clubs to activate it. But in the end, no one did, and as Fabrizio Romano has confirmed, this possibility is now gone.
Buyout clause reset is bad news for Danish Andreas Christensen
Araujo’s buyout clause has now returned to €1 billion, meaning any club looking to sign him will have to negotiate with Barcelona. Thus, it becomes less likely that he will leave the club, especially since sporting director Deco is determined to keep the Uruguayan defender, whom he values very highly.
Barcelona want to sell a centre-back this summer, and if Araujo stays, it means Andreas Christensen is likely to leave. The Danish international barely played last season due to recurring injury problems, and with only one year left on his current contract, his future looks uncertain.
So far, there have been no concrete approaches from clubs interested in Christensen, but if they do come, Barcelona are expected to give the go-ahead for a transfer – provided their desired price is met. However, problems can still arise, as the player himself has little interest in leaving the club.
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