Liverpool: Ronald Araújo opens up on his fight with anxiety and depression

“I understood I had to raise my hand, ask for help and speak not only to my loved ones but also to professionals.” Ronald Araújo said that to The Times, in an interview published on Saturday 24 October and picked up by the French press. The 27-year-old Uruguay defender, once Barça’s captain and a Liverpool player this season, speaks there about his fight with anxiety and depression.

A break to recover

At the worst point, Araújo stepped away from the game to look after his mental health. Foot Mercato places the break in December 2025, So Foot in November; neither gives an exact date. Foot Mercato adds that the defender went on a spiritual retreat in Israel after it, while So Foot connects the dark spell to his Champions League dismissals, which weighed heavily on him.

He looks back without bitterness. “Taking that break was the best decision I have ever made. Today I feel well, I am happy and I am enjoying playing football again,” he said.

An uncertain future, a match to play

On loan from Barça with an option to buy, according to Foot Mercato, Araújo leaves the question of what comes next to the club: staying at Liverpool is not only up to him. On the pitch, the picture is simpler. Liverpool, fifth in the Premier League on 12 points after seven games, host Brighton at Anfield on Sunday. Brighton sit third, on 16 points.

The odds I checked on Saturday point to no clear favourite: Liverpool are at 2.18 with 10BET, Brighton at 3.40 with Bet365. I broke the game down in the Liverpool v Brighton preview.