Liverpool: Ronald Araújo - Virgil van Dijk, a center-back pairing that's tough to dribble past

23.08.26 11:30 English Premier League

Newcastle

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Liverpool

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Liverpool have secured the signing of Ronald Araújo to fill the gap left by Ibrahima Konaté, who departed for Real Madrid. The Uruguayan defender leaves FC Barcelona on a loan deal with a €55 million purchase option attached.

Since joining Barça in 2018, Ronald Araújo has made 213 appearances but never fully convinced the fans over the seasons. In fact, he spent the last two campaigns under heavy criticism, becoming known for making costly errors that often proved fatal for his team.

Despite this, since making his La Liga debut, the 27-year-old has posted an incredible stat: he is the defender who has been dribbled past the fewest times in that period—just 14 times in 143 matches, averaging only 0.13 per game.

He leads the ranking just ahead of his new teammate, Virgil van Dijk, who has only been dribbled past 34 times in 212 appearances, for an impressive average of 0.16.

This means the Reds will boast a central defensive pairing that is a nightmare in one-on-one situations, a duo that opponents will dread facing, with neither being easy to dribble past and both excelling in these scenarios. Time will tell whether Araújo can quickly adapt to English football.

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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