Araujo opens up on mental health break: 'I knew something was wrong with me'

Ronald Araujo has described the personal crisis that led him to step away from football for two months during the 2025-26 season, saying a red card against Chelsea in the Champions League forced him to confront problems he had been suppressing for years.

The Barcelona captain, speaking to Marca as the season drew to a close, explained that the sending-off was not an isolated incident but the breaking point of a long accumulation of unaddressed difficulties. “It was a pile of things. I knew something was wrong with me because I didn’t feel well. I wasn’t happy. At home I was neither the husband nor the father they needed,” Araujo said. “I had been like this for a long time, accumulating things, without talking about them, keeping everything to myself, until there came a time when I exploded.”

He recalled the moment of clarity that followed the dismissal. “I remember that I went to the locker room alone and there I said: ‘Enough’. I realised that I needed to talk about it with my wife, with the club and ask for help. It has been one of the best decisions of my life.”

Araujo said he was struck by how naturally and respectfully Barcelona responded when he asked to step back. Sporting director Deco was the first person he approached, followed by other senior figures at the club. “It was tremendous. I was very surprised because they took it in a very natural and respectful way. Deco, who was the first one I spoke to, Alejandro, Bojan, the president and all the people close to him behaved very well,” he said. “I will always be grateful to them, to Barça and to my teammates, who have been key since I made the decision. They encouraged me, sent me messages and trusted me.”

The Uruguayan centre-back also acknowledged that his struggles were not solely rooted in football. “These are things that come together. Not only at a football level, because there are also situations that come from childhood and grow up,” he said.

Now recovered, Araujo expressed optimism about what lies ahead. “I feel very well and very happy. I enjoy playing football and training. I see things from another perspective,” he said. “I believe in myself a lot and I feel that my best years are coming.”

Araujo, who has been linked with a departure from the club, will next represent Uruguay at this summer’s World Cup. He described the 2025-26 campaign, despite its difficulties, as one of the most formative of his career. “It has not been an easy season, in which I have had to take on another role, but I will tell you that it is one of the seasons in which I have learned and grown the most.”