Atletico Madrid players fume at “disrespectful” Ronald Araujo remarks ahead of Copa del Rey clash | OneFootball

On Thursday, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona face off at the RiyadhAir Metropolitano in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie. Ahead of the match, a fire has been ignited between the two sets of players, which has stemmed from recent comments made by defender Ronald Araujo.

Earlier in the week, Araujo spoke publicly for the first time since returning from a mental health break. During the interview with MD (via Marca), he was asked about Julian Alvarez, and he made it clear that he would welcome the Atleti striker to the Spotify Camp Nou.

“For me Julián is a great player. For me, one of the best strikers in the world, and the best have to be at the best club, which is us.”

Image via Reuters

However, Araujo’s comments have not gone down well at the Metropolitano. The report has revealed that the Atleti playing squad have been left unhappy by Araujo’s remarks, which they consider to be disrespectful. As such, they intend to use them as motivation when Barcelona come to town on Thursday, in a match that Alvarez will hope can see him finally end his goalscoring woes.

Alvarez hasn’t scored a domestic goal since Atleti’s 3-0 victory over Sevilla in early November. Since then, he has played 19 times across all competitions, and has only netted on three occasions (all in the Champions League). There has been a lot of scrutiny on his performances during this period, and both he and the club will be determined to get back to his best level in the coming weeks.

Alvarez’s future at Atleti also continues to attract attention

Araujo’s aforementioned comments on Alvarez comes at a time when there has been a lot of speculation on the Argentina international’s future. Barcelona are one of the clubs interested in signing him, although at this stage, a return to the Premier League would be much more likely, with Chelsea said to be working on a summer deal.