Barcelona star eyes revenge and sends warning to Real Madrid ahead of El Clasico
Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo has sent a stern warning to Real Madrid ahead of the La Liga El Clasico on Sunday, April 21.
The two La Liga giants are set to lock horns at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium for a league showdown. Los Blancos are currently leading the table with 78 points from 31 matches while second-place Barca are eight points behind.
A win at the highly-anticipated showdown would give Xavi's side a thin chance of fighting for the league with a few games to go. Araujo is planning on doing just that and is looking to avenge the 2-1 loss Barca suffered at home at the end of October.
The Uruguayan centre-half said (via Madrid Universal):
"The Clasico is an important revenge. We can fight for the league."
Barcelona will come into the contest on the back of a demoralizing 4-1 home loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie. Despite winning the first leg 3-2, Barca's defeat saw them get knocked out of Europe. Araujo was sent off in that game in the 29th minute.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, have reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. They defeated Manchester City via penalties after the two European giants played out a 4-4 aggregate stalemate following two legs.
Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo apologizes to fans ahead of Real Madrid clash
Ronald Aaraujo's red card against PSG proved to be the turning point of the tie and Barcelona were knocked out of the competition as a result. The Uruguayan was given marching orders after bringing down Bradley Barcola as the last defender.
Araujo has since issued an apology to the fans for his actions. The Uruguayan took to social media and wrote on his Instagram:
"Football that gave me so much joy, is now hitting me hard. I thank all those who're unconditionally by my side, my teammates who left everything on the field, and the fans who believed in this team until the end. We'll try this again. Go Barca, now and forever. God is in control."
Araujo has the chance to make amends for the mistakes he made against PSG by helping Barca win against Real Madrid this weekend.