Liverpool confirm the signing of Barcelona captain Ronald Araujo as Andoni Iraola moves to fix defensive crisis just 13 days out from Premier League opener against Newcastle

Liverpool have confirmed the signing of Barcelona captain Ronald Araujo on a season-long loan with an option to buy.

The 27-year-old defender flew to Merseyside on Sunday afternoon and has since completed his medical.

The Reds have the option to purchase the Uruguay international at the end of the campaign for £47million.

‘I can’t wait to get started. I’m very, very happy,’ Araujo said. 

‘I’m excited to be here at this massive club with lots of history. I’m excited to meet my teammates, excited to get started playing, and I’m very motivated and really up for getting going.

‘I think it was the ideal move for me at this stage in my career. I think it was a move that was necessary for me to take. As soon as I heard that interest from Liverpool, everything went into action really, really quickly.

‘As I say, I’m super-happy to be here and excited to get started. I’m glad about the interest and it was the right move at the right time.’

The Uruguayan defender has joined the Anfield club on a season long loan

Araujo added that he will take inspiration from ‘role model’ Virgil van Dijk when he lines up alongside the Liverpool captain. 

‘We all know what a great player Virgil is. He’s a real reference point for the team and he’s a kind of role model and reference for me personally as well,’ he told the club’s website.

‘I am excited to have that opportunity and enjoy learning from him, playing alongside him. With hard work, I think we can achieve good things together as a partnership and as a defence.’

Defence was an area which needed strengthening following the departure of Ibrahima Konate at the conclusion of his contract and the on-going injury issues at right-back.

Liverpool believe Araujo’s experience – he was named Barcelona captain in January – is important and, significantly, he is up to speed having been involved in the Catalans’ pre-season preparations and it is understood he will join squad training later this week.

He arrives having won three league titles with Barcelona, as well as two Copas del Rey, and wants to continue that at Anfield after the 2025 Premier League winners finished trophyless in a season which cost head coach Arne Slot his job just 12 months after lifting the title.

‘Without a shadow of a doubt, the aim is to win trophies, win things. Liverpool is a team that is competing on all levels for all trophies, so we need to be battling it out on all fronts,’ added Araujo, who has already received goodwill messages from two other Uruguayans who played for the club in Luis Suarez and Darwin Nunez.

‘You aim high at a club like this – that’s what we’ll all be doing. As well as aiming high, I’ll be giving everything that I can out there on the pitch to try to make that happen.’

Andoni Iraola has sought to address his defensive crisis with a number of centre halves injured

Araujo’s arrival gives head coach Andoni Iraola greater depth in defence than his predecessor as new arrival Jeremy Jacquet is expected to return to training after a knee injury while Giovanni Leoni is entering the final stages of his rehabilitation following an ACL injury.

Ifeanyi Ndukwe and Mor Ndiaye, both 18, have impressed in pre-season but with Joe Gomez not fit for the start of the new campaign, Iraola needed another senior defender as, for much of last season, Liverpool had to play Van Dijk and Konate virtually every game.

Liverpool are continuing to actively look for more signings, with attack in need of reinforcement, and Araujo’s fee-free arrival will not impact those plans.

They have an interest in Paris St Germain’s Bradley Barcola but will not pay over the odds, in keeping with their self-sustaining model of seeking value in the market.