Julián Araujo

Julián Vicente Araujo Zúñiga (born 13 August 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for La Liga club Las Palmas, on loan from Barcelona. Born in the United States, he plays for the Mexico national team.[3]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Araujo and the second or maternal family name is Zúñiga.
Julián Araujo
Personal information
Full name Julián Vicente Araujo Zúñiga[1]
Date of birth (2001-08-13) 13 August 2001
Place of birth Lompoc, California, United States
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
 Las Palmas
(on loan from Barcelona)
Number 28
Youth career
Central Coast Condors
Santa Barbara Soccer Club
Barça Residency Academy
2018–2019 LA Galaxy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 LA Galaxy II 2 (0)
2019–2022 LA Galaxy 100 (1)
2023– Barcelona 0 (0)
2023– → Las Palmas (loan) 8 (0)
International career‡
2017 United States U16 4 (0)
2017–2018 United States U18 6 (0)
2018 United States U19 2 (0)
2018 United States U20 2 (0)
2019–2021 United States U23 6 (0)
2020 United States 1 (0)
2021– Mexico 11 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Mexico
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Winner2023 United States–CanadaTeam
CONCACAF Nations League
Third place2023 United States
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 September 2023

Youth

Araujo was born in Lompoc, California, and is of Mexican descent. He attended Lompoc High School.[4] After two years at Lompoc High School, he left home and joined Barça Residency Academy in Casa Grande, Arizona in 2017.[5]

In March 2017, Araujo had committed to playing college soccer at the University of California, Santa Barbara from 2018 onward.[6]

Club career

LA Galaxy II

Araujo made his professional debut in a 2–2 draw with Seattle Sounders FC 2 on 4 October 2018, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for Nate Shultz.[7]

LA Galaxy

On 1 March 2019, LA Galaxy acquired Araujo after trading $50,000 of Targeted Allocation Money to Colorado Rapids to gain the first spot in the Waivers Order.[8]

Araujo made 108 total appearances with the Galaxy, scoring once in the regular season and again in the playoffs. He became a regular starter beginning in 2019 and finished 2021 and 2022 as the team's defender of the year.[9]

Barcelona

On 1 February 2023, FC Barcelona and LA Galaxy agreed on a transfer for Araujo. The paperwork, however, was delivered 18 seconds late,[10] and the deal was left in limbo after FIFA rejected the transfer but the Court of Arbitration for Sport overruled.[11] Ultimately, by 17 February Araujo was transferred to Barcelona.[12]

Loan to Las Palmas

On 1 August 2023, Araujo was loaned to La Liga side Las Palmas for the entire 2023–24 season.[13][14]

International career

United States

Araujo was eligible to play for the United States or Mexico.[15]

After an injury to Ayo Akinola, Araujo was named to the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup squad to represent the United States under-20.[16]

Araujo was called into the United States national soccer team by Gregg Berhalter for the January 2020 camp, but did not make an official match appearance.[4] He was called up again in December 2020 for a game against El Salvador, in which he made his senior level debut.[17] Araujo was named to the final 20-player United States under-23 roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship in March 2021.[18]

On 18 June 2021, Araujo was named to the preliminary 59-player USMNT roster for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup but was left off of the final roster on 1 July 2021. Berhalter cited Araujo's dual citizenship and him not feeling ready to become cap-tied to the USMNT.[19]

Mexico

On 13 August 2021, sports media in Mexico reported that Araujo himself had filed and submitted the one-time switch to FIFA in order to join Mexico.[20] As of 4 October 2021 FIFA officially approved Araujo's case.[21][22]

On 27 November 2021, Araujo was included in the Mexico national football team call-up by Gerardo Martino for a friendly match against Chile set to take place on 8 December.[23] He was given a starting berth in Mexico's 2–2 draw, playing the full 90 minutes.[24] In making his debut, Araujo became the third player in the history of the Mexico–United States rivalry in having represented both national teams alongside Martín Vásquez and Edgar Castillo.[25]

In the summer of 2023, Araujo along with the Mexican national team obtained a 3rd place finish at the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals and won the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup championship.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 22 October 2023[26]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
LA Galaxy II 2018 USL 20———20
LA Galaxy 2019 MLS 18010—1[lower-alpha 1]0200
2020 MLS 171———171
2021 MLS 320———320
2022 MLS 33040—2[lower-alpha 2]1391
Total 100150—311082
Barcelona 2022–23 La Liga 00———00
Las Palmas (loan) 2023–24 La Liga 80———80
Career total 11015000311182
  1. Appearance in Leagues Cup
  2. Appearances in MLS Cup Playoffs

International
As of match played 9 September 2023[27]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Mexico 202110
202220
202380
Total110

Honours

United States U20

Mexico

Individual

References
  1. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: USA" (PDF). FIFA. 13 June 2019. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
  2. "Julián Araujo". LA Galaxy. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  3. "Julián Araujo, new Barça Atlètic player (17-02-23)". www.fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  4. "Lompoc native Julian Araujo gets a potential starting chance as Galaxy resume season". Santa Maria Times.
  5. Reyna, Lorenzo J. "Julian Araujo completes first season with Barca Academy as an All-Conference player". Santa Maria Times. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  6. Reyna, Lorenzo J. "Araujo commits to UCSB, Prendergast lands first offer". Santa Yves Valley News.
  7. "Seattle Sounders FC 2 vs LA Galaxy II". Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  8. "LA Galaxy sign defender Julian Araujo | LA Galaxy".
  9. "LA Galaxy Transfer Defender Julián Araujo to FC Barcelona | LA Galaxy".
  10. "Source: Araujo trains at Barca amid transfer delay". 15 February 2023.
  11. "Julián Araujo poised to join Barcelona as CAS overrules FIFA". 15 February 2023.
  12. "LA Galaxy Transfer Defender Julián Araujo to FC Barcelona | LA Galaxy".
  13. "Julián Araujo, nuevo jugador de la UD Las Palmas". UD Las Palmas. 1 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  14. "Julián Araujo to go on loan to Las Palmas". FC Barcelona. 1 August 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  15. "Un Estados Unidos muy 'mexicano' clasifica al Mundial Sub-20". 17 November 2018.
  16. "Julian Araujo added to U.S. roster for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup | LA Galaxy".
  17. "USA 6 - El Salvador 0: Match Report & Stats". www.ussoccer.com.
  18. "U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team Head Coach Jason Kreis Names Roster for Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship". www.ussoccer.com. 11 March 2021.
  19. @SoccerByIves (1 July 2021). "Gregg Berhalter reveals that Julian Araujo, a dual national, wasn't ready to make the final step to committing to t…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. "Reportes: Julián Araujo decide jugar con la Selección Mexicana". tudn.mx (in Spanish). 13 August 2021.
  21. "Julián Araujo ya es jugador elegible para México". mediotiempo.com (in Spanish). 4 October 2021.
  22. "Q&A: Julian Araujo on why he chose to represent Mexico instead of the USMNT". The Athletic. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  23. "Convocatoria de la Selección Nacional de México". MiSeleccion (in Spanish). 9 December 2021.
  24. "La SNM cerró la actividad del 2021 con empate". MiSeleccion (in Spanish). 8 December 2021.
  25. "Julián Araujo makes Mexico debut after switching from US". apnews.com. 8 December 2021.
  26. Julián Araujo at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  27. Julián Araujo at National-Football-Teams.com
  28. "Mexico beats Panama in Gold Cup final with late Gimenez goal". ESPN. 16 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  29. "2021 MLS All-Star Team Roster". MLSsoccer.
  30. "2022 MLS All-Star Game Roster". Major League Soccer. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
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