Barcelona midfielder takes indefinite leave to recover mentally

Recently, mainstay center-back Ronald Araujo asked Barcelona's leadership and coaching staff to allow him to be absent for a while to recover mentally.

Ronald Araujo will be out of action indefinitely in the near future - Photo: REUTERS

Leading newspapers such as Mundo Deportivo and AS simultaneously lifted the veil of mystery behind the absence of midfielder Araujo in Barcelona's most recent match. And it was not for health reasons as announced.

Specifically, the Uruguayan midfielder has proposed to the Barcelona board and coach that he take time off to recover mentally. Araujo admitted that he is not in the best form yet and does not want to be a mental burden for the team.

Last weekend, Araujo's absence was explained by Barcelona and coach Hansi Flick as being due to "health reasons" (stomach ache).

However, the real cause was revealed to be that the 26-year-old centre-back was in a state of mental breakdown. This stemmed from the disastrous red card at Stamford Bridge last midweek.

Defender Araujo was sent off in the match between Barcelona and Chelsea - Photo: REUTERS

In a press conference last night, coach Hansi Flick confirmed the incident, although he refused to go into details: “Ronald Araujo is not ready at the moment. The reason is private and I do not want to say more. I hope you respect this matter.”

Notably, Barcelona has fully supported and accepted this proposal. Araujo's recovery period has been decided without a specific time limit.

Barcelona also expressed their desire to support him in all aspects, especially psychologically, with the hope that he can soon overcome the pressure and regain his best balance.

On the leadership side, Barca president Joan Laporta publicly defended captain Araujo against the wave of criticism from public opinion: "I want to encourage and protect Araujo. He has been criticized too much and I think that is unfair.

He is the captain of Barca, he gives everything on the pitch and now he has to overcome this period. I want to tell Araujo that we are always with him because here we win and lose together. No individual is solely responsible for victory or defeat.

TUAN LONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/trung-ve-cua-barcelona-xin-nghi-khong-thoi-han-de-phuc-hoi-tam-ly-20251202094617029.htm