Gone in 18 seconds! Here's why Barcelona failed to sign LA Galaxy's Julian Araujo on deadline day
Barcelona missed out on the transfer deadline day signing of LA Galaxy defender Julian Araujo because the club submitted their paperwork ‘18 seconds’ after the window had closed.
FollowBarcelona submitted their papers "18 seconds" after the transfer window closed, missing the opportunity to sign LA Galaxy defender Julian Araujo on the final day of the January window. The Catalan club and the MLS team had agreed to move the 21-year-old right back for 6.5 million dollars and a contract that would last until 2026.
Hector Bellerin, a former defender for Arsenal, joined Sporting Lisbon on loan on deadline day, freeing up space in the team for Araujo to join. However, according to Mateu Alemany, Barcelona's sports director of football, the club ran into technical issues with the online filing system as the Spanish team hurried to submit their papers to LaLiga.
Alemany explained that Barcelona missed the deadline by 18 seconds due to a "computer error" and said they were hopeful that FIFA would allow the transfer to go through.
"We didn't arrive on time due to a computer error - the delay was 18 seconds," Alemany said. "We'll have to wait and see what FIFA decide."
Barcelona's only addition during the January transfer window would have been Araujo after Bellerin and Memphis Depay left the team.
Araujo is still a member of the LA Galaxy for the time being, and his deal was one of many on deadline day to fall through before the window closed.
After Chelsea failed to complete the deal with Hakim Ziyech before the deadline, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) was enraged. According to reports, the inaccurate paperwork or incomplete forms were allegedly delivered four times. Chelsea, however, maintains that the failure to send the papers was caused by "unforeseen technical issues," which meant the 11 p.m. deadline was missed.
