Everton have a history when it comes to signing players from Barcelona.
In the space of 12 months, the Toffees paid about £70 million to bring in Andre Gomes, Yerry Mina and Lucas Digne. Then again, Barcelona hardly stood in their way.
Gomes, Mina and Digne were fringe players at Camp Nou, expensively acquired yet seldom-seen back-ups. With funds in short supply in Catalonia, Barca didn’t wait around to accept Everton’s offers.
When it comes to Ronald Araujo, however, the situation is very different indeed.
While Mina, Gomes and Digne were merely passing through, Araujo has a long-term future at Barcelona.
The 22-year-old Uruguayan has been a revelation this season, stepping up in superb style during the injury-enforced absence of Gerard Pique to make 20 La Liga appearances for Ronald Koeman’s title-chasing side.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Barca have no interest in doing a deal with Everton this time around.
A precarious financial situation means a sale can’t be ruled out entirely but, as MD points out, it would take an “exorbitant offer” for the Spanish giants to even consider letting the La Masia graduate go.
And that’s music to the ears of Barcelona fans.
Here’s what some of them had to say on Twitter about the situation:
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