Ronald Federico Araújo da Silva (Rivera, March 7, 1999) is a Uruguayan footballer who plays as a defender for F.C. Barcelona of the Spanish Primera División, where he serves as the second captain.

Personal Life

Ronald Araújo was born on March 7, 1999, in Rivera, to Celestino Araújo and Karina Da Silva, both of Brazilian descent. He has two brothers, Maikel and Kauan.

On July 21, 2025, he married Abigail Olivera, his partner since 2016, in a religious ceremony held at the Methodist Temple in Montevideo. They have two daughters: Aitana (b. 2021) and Adara (b. 2024).

Club Career

Early Beginnings

Ronald Araújo began his development at Huracán de Rivera, where he debuted with the senior team at just 13 years old. In 2015, he moved to Montevideo after signing with C.A. Rentistas, where he made his professional debut the following year. In July 2017, he was transferred to C.A. Boston River.

Ronald Araujo to F.C. Barcelona

On August 29, 2018, F.C. Barcelona officially announced Ronald Araujo’s signing for their reserve team (filial), with a five-season contract for a fixed fee of 1.7 million euros plus 3.5 million in variables. On October 6, 2019, he debuted with the first team in an official match, a 4-0 victory against Sevilla F.C., after replacing Jean-Clair Todibo in the second half, but was sent off before the match ended.

On June 13, 2020, he played his first match as a starter in a 0-4 victory against R.C.D. Mallorca. On July 19, he had his second start in a 0-5 victory over Deportivo Alavés at Mendizorroza. The next day, the club announced that he would rejoin the reserve team to play in the promotion play-off.

On October 5, Ronald Araújo was officially registered as a first-team footballer for the Blaugrana in La Liga. That same season, on December 19, he scored his first goal with the first team against Valencia C.F., which gave his team a momentary 2-1 lead.

In the 2021-22 season, he played his first Clásico against Real Madrid C.F. at the Santiago Bernabéu and scored the second of the four goals that secured their victory. Before the end of the campaign, he signed a contract extension until June 2026.

In July 2023, following the departures of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, Ronald Araújo was chosen by his teammates as the third captain.

The following season, with the departure of Sergi Roberto, he became the second captain. At the start of that season, he could not play due to an injury suffered in the Copa América and did not play his first match of the season until January, the month in which he renewed his contract until June 2031.

National Team

Ronald Araújo debuted for the Uruguay U-20 national team in March 2019. He participated in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland. In the tournament, he played three matches and scored one goal.

On October 13, 2020, he debuted with the senior national team, starting in the 2022 World Cup qualifier against Ecuador in Quito.

Ronald Araujo was called up for the Copa América 2021. He suffered an injury in a training session after the first match and was not available until the quarterfinals, a round in which Uruguay was eliminated after losing on penalties (2-4) to Colombia.

On September 23, 2022, he suffered an injury in the first minute of a friendly match against Iran. He underwent surgery days later, putting his participation in the Qatar World Cup at risk. He eventually attended the tournament but did not play any minutes.

In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, he scored his first goal for the senior national team. It was on November 16, 2023, when Uruguay visited Argentina, and he scored his team’s first goal. The final score was 2-0 for Uruguay, with the other goal scored by Darwin Núñez.

He participated in the Copa América 2024, where Uruguay finished in third place after defeating Canada in a penalty shootout. He was unable to play the last matches of the tournament due to an injury suffered in the quarterfinals, which kept him off the field for five months.