Could Real Madrid really steal away Barcelona’s best defender?

Recent rumours coming from the transfer market world suggest that Real Madrid have been looking to sign a new center-back. Even though the new David Alaba-Eder Militao duo seems to be fit and adapting well with each other, the club from the Spanish capital is urging to use its cash to establish the ever lacking squad depth. There have been many options on the list lately but they come with their own pitfalls.

After signing the heir of the legendary No.  4 jersey in the name of David Alaba, Real Madrid wanted to sign another world-class center back on a free transfer – Antonio Rudiger. Talks with the German were in positive progression but his age and salary were big concerns for the club.

Another name on the board was the French talent Jules Kounde but again, things failed to move ahead because of the massive price tag put on him by his employing club, Sevilla.

Now it appears that what Real Madrid were looking for all over the world has been breeding in their own neighborhood. This player checks out both the boxes of affordability and age but also stems from a rival.

According to a report from KNB in Catalonia, via AS, Florentino Perez has set his eyes on Barcelona’s star defender Ronald Araujo. This has come to the public eye after the contract extension talks between FC Barcelona and the Uruguayan have apparently come to a halt. Araujo’s contract runs out in the year 2023 and that would be a perfect time for Real Madrid to sign him as a free agent, pulling off another Luis Figo move.

Interestingly, this is not the first time that he has caught the attention of Real Madrid. Back in 2018, Los Blancos tried to sign him but fates didn’t favour the club for Barcelona’s management was keen to snatch him away, and also, Real Madrid did have their stars Ramos and Varane so the yearning for Araujo was not vigorous enough but things have only changed ever since.

What is the situation between Barcelona nad Araujo?

There is no doubt in saying that the defender has been the backbone and sole carrier of Barcelona’s defence force and for similar reasons, his need for a better paying contract is unreservedly valid. As per the article from AS, the rising interest of the Catalan club in renewing Ousmane Dembele and Gavi while registering Ferran Torres has left lesser room for the extension of Ronald Araujo after 2023.

Although it should be noted that it would not be so easy to hijack the player for the management at FC Barcelona count him as a long-term performing asset and would not let their arch-rivals steal away their biggest future prospect. The club is well aware of the fact that Gerard Pique is 34 years old and probably counting his last years at Barcelona, it would not be favorable to lose their starting pair of center-backs in one go.

Why is Real Madrid interested again?

Florentino Perez is itching to recreate a Galactico era at Real Madrid once again and for that, he has been closely following promising players all around the globe. A few famous ones include Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.

The management at Valdebebas has been keenly following Ronald Araujo since his teenage days at Boston River. But the recent upsurge in captivation springs up after talks between Los Blancos and Antonio Rudiger have apparently ceased to evolve following his wage demands. Araujo also has an upper hand over Rudiger in terms of age since he is a whopping six years younger than the latter.

With that said, it should be taken into consideration that signing the arch rival’s favorite player would not be easy at all but we are talking about a transfer market where literally anything is possible at any point in time.