Barcelona captain opens up on mental health battles – ‘I knew there was something not right’ | OneFootball

The night of November 25, 2025, at Stamford Bridge was one Ronald Araujo will perhaps not forget.

Barcelona were beaten 3-0 by Chelsea in the Champions League, and the Uruguayan defender’s red card just before half-time proved to be the moment the game slipped away.

Days after the match, Barcelona granted him an indefinite leave of absence. He travelled to Israel on a spiritual retreat, then returned home to Uruguay to spend Christmas with family, before rejoining the squad at the turn of the year.

In a recent interview with Movistar+ (h/t SPORT), he spoke candidly about what he went through during that period, about how he dealt with stress and depression.

Araujo breaks his silence

The defender described the warning signs he had been carrying before the Chelsea night ever arrived.

“I knew there was something not right, because you feel like things aren’t going well, you feel a bit sadder, and in terms of performance, you don’t feel capable of delivering what you know you can deliver as a player.”

“At that point, things aren’t working. Plus, you come home with all this stress, and at home, you’re no longer the same as you used to be,” he said.

For Araujo, the effects of that period extended far beyond the pitch and into the parts of his life that matter most to him.

“As a person, by nature, I’m very family-oriented. I love showing affection to my wife and daughters, but I felt like I had lost that a little. There was something like a barrier… a barrier between them and me,” he added.

Araujo added that it was difficult to act on his problems, despite identifying them.

“And I knew there was something wrong, but you keep going out of habit. And maybe also because of the culture, since we’re from a rural environment, for example, and it’s hard to express emotions there.”

Ronald Araujo says Chelsea game wasn’t the only reason. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

“So you find it difficult to break that barrier and admit: ‘There’s something happening to me, I need to work on it or seek help.’ It was very hard for me to admit that I needed to work on myself, and that I needed help from a specialist,” the Barça captain said.

The red card against Chelsea and the wave of criticism that followed proved to be the moment he could no longer push through.

“And I kept going, and kept going, and kept going… But at some point, I said: Enough, this is the time.”

“And that was precisely tied to the incident with Chelsea, but it wasn’t the only reason; rather, several things had built up until I reached this point, and that’s when I said: Enough, I need to start speaking again, I need to do something.”

“Yes, because what happened was obvious… I don’t know, after I got that red card, the situation was insane. That’s when I said: Something is happening to me.”

He described his experience after the Chelsea defeat and the following conversation with his wife.

“I went straight into the locker room and said: No, here I need to ask for help, I need to… And I spoke first with my wife and told her: Look, it’s clear that something is happening to me, I need to ask for help.”

Barcelona backed him without hesitation, granting him as much time as he needed. Araujo returned to training at the end of December and has since spoken about feeling like a different person.

The Uruguayan international has been linked with a move away from Camp Nou, but he remains unfazed by these rumours.