Barcelona president Joan Laporta has stepped forward to defend Ronald Araujo after the captain came under a wave of criticism from fans following the 3-0 Champions League loss to Chelsea, which SoftFootball reported. The incident has created a lot of noise around the team.
Laporta insisted that the criticism has been too harsh, saying Araujo has always put everything he has into the club. He felt people were too quick to judge the defender after his red card, and he wanted to encourage him instead.
Laporta said in a post shared by Fabrizio Romano on his official X account that Araujo is someone who gives everything on the pitch, sometimes even too much because of how emotional he is with the game.
Fabrizio Romano posted:
Laporta: I want to defend Araujo and encourage him. He has faced a lot of criticism and this is not fair. He gives everything on the pitch.
He must get through this period. I tell him that we are with him: we win and lose together. We are one team.
The Barcelona president shared that he spoke to Araujo personally, telling him the club was fully behind him. He explained that the player seemed really down about what happened and needed a little push to lift his spirits again.
Laporta repeated that Barcelona wins together and loses together and that it’s never about pointing at one man after a bad result. For him, that message was important.
Araujo is already going through a tough moment, and now he is also set to miss the next league match against Alavés because of a stomach virus, as reported by SoftFootball.
Hansi Flick confirmed the news, adding that the timing was just unfortunate. Araujo had hoped to bounce back immediately, but the illness means he will need a bit more time.
Laporta tried to look at the bigger picture and said the loss to Chelsea might actually help the squad regroup. He believes the team is slowly coming together and that the setback could be something they grow from instead of letting it drag them down.
He also praised Flick’s reaction to the situation, saying the coach handled everything calmly and with the right attitude.
