"I have codes and values that must be respected" - Ronald Araujo responds to criticism from Barcelona teammate after UCL loss to PSG
Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo has refused to get into a war of words with club teammate Ilkay Gundogan. The former stressed that he will not blame anyone for their recent UEFA Champions League (UCL) defeat to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
Speaking at his book launch, Araujo said that the Barcelona players need to keep things to themselves after getting eliminated from the UCL. He said (via GOAL):
"I prefer to keep what I think to myself. I have codes and values that must be respected."
However, he also issued an apology to the club's fans for his red card in the second leg in Barcelona, which inevitably turned the tie in PSG's favor. He said:
"I am sad, like all Barca fans, because of the red card. The shot was 50-50 and the referee made the decision. It hurts. To the young fans of Barca, I tell them we are very sorry and that is how football is. We are Barca and we have a very good young group, which will fight for the Champions League next year, and I am sure we will bring them a lot of joy."
Barcelona were 4-2 up on aggregate in their UCL quarterfinal tie against PSG with just over 60 minutes of play left in the second leg. But Araujo got sent off for a last-man challenge on Bradley Barcola and that saw the Ligue1 side take control of the game.
Goals from Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha and a brace from Kylian Mbappe saw PSG turn the game around and win the tie 6-4 to book a semifinal showdown against Borussia Dortmund.
Ilkay Gundogan hit out at Barcelona teammate after PSG loss
Ilkay Gundogan was not happy with Ronald Araujo's decision to go for the challenge and claimed it was better for the defender to leave matters in the goalkeeper's hands.
He added that it was better for them to concede the goal at that point than go down to 10 men.
He told CBS Sports after the game:
"You know, in these kind of crucial moments you need to be sure to get the ball. If you don't, and again I don't know if he touched the ball or not, you need to stay away. I would prefer to concede a goal there or give the striker 1v1.
"Although, the ball was played quite far ahead so I don't even know if he would have reached the ball. But, maybe let our goalkeeper save us or even concede a goal because to go a player down so early on just kills your game."