Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has spoken about the imminent departure of his captain Ronald Araujo to Liverpool.
The Reds have agreed to sign the Uruguay international on a season-long loan from the La Liga champions after new boss Andoni Iraola was left with just one fully fit senior centre-back and right-back just two weeks away from the start of the Premier League season.
Araujo can cover both of those positions and he is jetting into Merseyside today (Sunday) to undergo a medical with Liverpool ahead of completing the shock transfer.
Araujo's Barcelona career
The 27-year-old has spent the past eight years at Barcelona, making 213 appearances and scoring 14 goals, and was appointed as the club's captain in January after the loan departure of Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
But he made just 16 starts last season and took a break for mental health reasons after being heavily criticised after being sent off during the Champions League loss to Chelsea in November.
Araujo returned in January and lifted the La Liga title in May after Barcelona beat bitter rivals Real Madrid 2-0 at the Camp Nou to seal top spot.
Flick's farewell
However Flick is allowing his skipper to leave and speaking after his side's friendlies against Nottingham Forest and Udinese yesterday (Saturday), he said: “I think Ronald is a great guy and a fantastic player.
“I think our style of play, that we want to play, is a little bit different. He’s a player that has a lot of speed, he’s physical and very strong and also with the ball he’s quite good.
“We couldn’t include him like I wanted and also I think he wants to make something new. You know it more than me because in the past, something has happened, so this affected him.
“I saw him this morning and I said goodbye and I think he was very happy and Liverpool is also a fantastic club. I wish him all the best because he deserves it.
“He’s a fantastic guy and fantastic player and was a great captain.”
Loan details
It is understood the season-long loan includes a £47m option for Liverpool to buy rather than an obligation.
The Reds have a number of availability issues in defence as they continue to prepare for their Premier League opener at Newcastle United on August 23.
At centre-back, Joe Gomez is out for several weeks with a muscle issue suffered in the friendly against Sunderland; new signing Jeremy Jacquet is yet to feature as he recovers fitness following a shoulder operation; Giovanni Leoni is still to return from an ACL injury suffered last September, and teenager Ifeanyi Ndukwe is ineligible.
At right-back, Conor Bradley has been sidelined since January after a serious knee injury while Jeremie Frimpong has been hampered by a number of fitness setbacks since signing from Bayer Leverkusen last summer.
Liverpool face Monaco at Anfield at 2.30pm today (Sunday).
