Official: Barcelona & Real Madrid stars called up for World Cup | OneFootball

Members of the first-team ranks at Spanish football’s two leading clubs have this weekend been honoured with calls for the upcoming World Cup.

The pair in question? Ronald Araújo, and Federico Valverde.

Beginning with the latter, midfielder Valverde is fresh off an altogether productive individual campaign in Spain’s capital.

Despite being marred by a serious falling out with teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni, the 27-year-old’s season was highlighted by an impressive 22 goal contributions in all competitions, including a hat-trick in a Champions League showdown with Manchester City.

His inclusion in Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay setup for the summer has therefore come as little surprise.

Fellow countryman Araújo, on the other hand, endured a 2025/26 to forget from an individual standpoint.

Singled out for heavy criticism for a string of underwhelming performances, the stopper was required to take time away from the pitch for his own mental health.

Araújo has since recovered, albeit whilst forced to make do with backup status in Hansi Flick’s Barcelona ranks.

Nevertheless, he too has been named in his country’s squad for the World Cup, which can be seen in full below:

Conor Laird – GSFN