Centre-back was given some time off by the club after intense criticism and hate caused him anxiety issues
At the start of December 2025, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick told reporters that Ronald Araujo would be unavailable but refused to say more as it was “a private situation”.
Reports later emerged the defender had been granted some time off by the club because he was not in the right place mentally. He had suffered serious anxiety issues following backlash from his performance in the Champions League against Chelsea.
Barcelona lost 3-0 to the English side, Araujo picking up a first-half red card after two yellow card offences. Criticism was intense in the press and on social media, where there are reports even his family, including his two daughters, were threatened.
This isn’t the first time Araujo has had to face such backlash. The same thing happened after Barcelona’s loss to Inter Milan in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final game at the San Siro.
The player was torn into for failing to stop Francesco Acerbi from scoring a crucial goal that took the tie into extra time. He also faced serious criticism and hate on social media.
Following the latest episode, the player spoke with sporting director Deco and manager Hansi Flick. Together with senior members of the club’s hierarchy they agreed to give Araujo some time off to rediscover himself and recover mentally.
“I hadn’t been doing well for a long time, maybe more than a year and a half,” Araujo told Mundo Deportivo. “You try to be strong, perhaps because of your roots, where you come from, you start to push forward, but I felt like I wasn’t okay. Not just in sports, but also in my family and personal life.
“I wasn’t feeling like myself, and that was when it clicked and I said: something’s wrong, I need to speak up and ask for help.
“I’m the type of person who keeps everything to myself, but you also have to understand that there are professionals who can help you, give you tools to know how to handle certain situations. I needed to speak up and say that something was wrong with me so I could recover.”
𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀 𝐈́𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐑𝐀
❤️🩹 Araujo: “Llevaba un año y medio con ansiedad, que se volvió depresión, y estaba jugando así”
💬 Se abre en exclusiva para MD y explica cómo afrontó sus problemas de salud mental✍️ @martinezferran y @javigasconMD…
— Mundo Deportivo (@mundodeportivo) February 11, 2026
The player used the time off to travel to spiritual sites, including a pilgrimage to the Middle East. Araujo is a devoted Christian, and he believes his visits to holy sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem helped him explore his deeper connection with God.
But he also travelled to visit his family in Uruguay, as well as hiring personal trainers to keep up his fitness.
“Things have changed quite a bit because I’ve learned so much during this time,” Araujo said. “I think it was the right thing to do after that decision I made. I feel different and I’m happy about it, because I’m more at ease, happier. I can enjoy what I love to do, which is playing football, and that helps a lot.
“The time I took off was for a reason, because in the end I was able to work through it with professionals, with my family, and spiritually, which is what I needed. So I think that did me a lot of good, and today I feel like a completely different person.”
The player returned as Barcelona faced Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final in Jeddah. He was handed the armband and after Barcelona won the players gathered around their teammate and threw him up in the air.
Araujo then lifted the trophy, his teammates all around him and jubilant, the sign of group support and the camaraderie that forms the backbone of this Barcelona squad.
