The Julian Araujo move to FC Barcelona is finally official.
At the close of the January transfer window, the Galaxy and Barcelona had struck a deal for the move, but according to reports, Barcelona was approximately 20 seconds late in finalizing the deal with FIFA, sending the move into an appeal process.
Araujo, who up until the the transfer deadline was training with the Galaxy, stopped as the move tried to get sorted out. On Thursday, Araujo and his agents flew to Barcelona to complete the deal.
The Galaxy will receive a reported $4 million in the transfer and will “retain a sell-on percentage of the transfer if Araujo is sold to another club.” The deal is through 2026.
“It’s a wonderful story of a young, Southern California native who came to L.A. Galaxy Academy with a dream to play for the L.A. Galaxy and he did so through the process of being in the academy, being in the second team and making his move into the first team,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “He’s played now three years inside the first team, almost 8,000 minutes, and he’s been recognized for his growth and the effort he’s put in.
“He’s going to be moving to one of the biggest clubs in the world, which is exciting in many ways for him and his story.”
Araujo, who signed with the Galaxy as a 17-year-old, burst into the first-team lineup in 2019 and had become one of the best right backs in Major League Soccer. He initially joined the Galaxy Academy from the Barca Residency Academy in 2018.
In his time with the Galaxy, Araujo made 100 career regular-season appearances (89 starts) and was a two-time MLS All-Star. Last season, he recorded nine assists in 39 total appearances.
Although Araujo has made the move, his status for the remainder of the Spanish season is still unknown. Barcelona appealed to Court of Arbitration Sport in an effort to get Araujo registered and have him play this season. As of now, he will begin training with Barca Atletic (or Barca B).
“Today…
Read the full article here
