Rui Borges holds up Sporting key man, and there's a reason | OneFootball

Rui Borges can now count on Maxi Araújo among Sporting’s options for this pre-season. However, unlike Rodrigo Zalazar, the Lions’ ‘number 20’ needs more careful management at this stage, since he was one of the players most used by Marcelo Bielsa at the 2026 World Cup.

After a long season in the service of the Alvalade club, in which he ended up totaling 3,756 minutes, the Uruguay international requires greater care in his reintegration into match action, and that may be noticeable in the double test prepared for the green-and-whites this Monday.

The same is not expected to apply to Zalazar, as already mentioned. Sporting’s new signing is almost certain to get his first minutes in the green-and-white hoops and is one of the players fans are most eager to see at this pre-season training camp.

Still regarding Maxi Araújo, following the departure of several key Sporting figures in this transfer window - such as Morten Hjulmand, Francisco Trincão and possibly Pedro Gonçalves - Rui Borges sees the player as even one of the most active voices in the dressing room for 2026/27.

In 2025/26 for Sporting, Maxi Araújo - valued at €35 million - made 47 appearances: 29 in the Liga Portugal Betclic, 11 in the UEFA Champions League, five in the Portuguese Cup, one in the League Cup and one in the Super Cup. In the 3,756 minutes he was on the pitch, the wing-back scored seven goals and provided five assists.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.