Hansi Flick has effectively waved Ronald Araújo towards Liverpool, and the clearest part of the story is why Barcelona no longer see him as a natural fit. Flick praised him as a strong player, but also said the club could not include him the way they wanted. A medical and contract signing in Merseyside are due on Sunday.

Flick's explanation for the exit

Flick did not sound like a coach trying to hide a sale. He called Araújo a good player and a good person, then went further: Barcelona's style is “a little bit different” to what he needs. The stronger version came when Flick said, “We couldn't include him like I wanted and also I think he wants to make something new.”

That is the key line in this move. The reported deal, a season-long loan with an option to buy, has been dressed up in different ways across reports, with the figure landing around £47m and also being reported as €55million (£47.1m). The valuation matters less than the fit. Flick has made it plain that the fit stopped working.

The numbers around Araújo's last Barcelona season back that up. He made only 11 starts in La Liga, even though he still played 38 times in all competitions. He was not out of the picture, but he was no longer a fixed part of the league XI.

The interrupted season behind the move

Araújo's season was also broken up by time away from football between November and January for mental health reasons. He later said: “I'd been dealing with anxiety for a year and a half that turned into depression, and I was playing like that. That doesn't help, because on the field you don't really feel like yourself.”

That break sits inside the wider explanation for why his role shrank. It is hard to separate the tactical issue from the personal one, because both shaped the season he had at Barcelona. He was still capable of production too, with 14 goals and 7 assists in 213 appearances since joining in 2018, but the club's trust in him as a weekly starter clearly drifted.

Liverpool also need bodies. They are without Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni through injury, which is why Araújo is being viewed as a timely addition. The club's recent league form has not been steady either, with five matches producing two defeats and two draws. A defender with Araújo's size and pace is an obvious answer if the move goes through.

Virgil van Dijk remains the reference point at centre-back, but Araújo would bring a different profile and, as reports suggest, cover in more than one position if needed. For Barcelona, the message from Flick is already clear enough. For Liverpool, the medical on Sunday is the next concrete step.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →