Julian Araujo has revealed he is "cherishing the moment" having been given the opportunity to play top flight football in Spain with UD Las Palmas, who are excelling in LaLiga so far this season.
The Mexican international originally accepted an offer to move to Barcelona from LA Galaxy during the 2023 winter transfer window, but incredibly saw his paperwork completed 18 seconds beyond the deadline. The move was eventually confirmed in February, but it meant training under Mexican national team legend Rafael Marquez with Barca Atletic for the remainder of last season.
At the start of the current season, he opted to join Las Palmas - a newly promoted club to the Spanish top flight who are impressing with their performances and results so far. They face Osasuna on Saturday having beaten the mighty Atletico Madrid last time out at Estadio Gran Canaria.
He joins a team with a storied history. Las Palmas were founded in 1949 when five local teams on the island joined forces to form one club and give the island of Gran Canaria its best chance to stop players leaving for mainland Spain - which sits 1000km away and naturally offers the opportunity for footballers to join some of the world's biggest clubs.
The creation of UD Las Palmas was a controversial move at the time in the eyes of the locals and the decision to collaborate was not necessarily an easy one.
Real Club Victoria - the most successful of the local teams, named after Queen Victoria and donning Newcastle United's famous black and white stripes, using kits gifted by the north east club - saw a large section of their playing squad called up to the island club at the stage of formation. But the decision has worked, with Las Palmas now enjoying their 35th season in LaLiga.
Speaking exclusively to 90min as the club recently told us its story, Araujo revealed the offer of regular first-team football for a team who teach and play a defined, entertaining playing style convinced him moving to Gran Canaria was the right thing for him to do.
"This is the best league in the world and it was always my dream to play in LaLiga," he said. "Las Palmas has a tradition of producing great players and it is an honor for me to play for this club."
Notably developing Pedri before his move to Barcelona in recent seasons, Las Palmas are getting a lot of things right, and take pride in developing players who not only grew up on the island of Gran Canaria, but promising players from the youth ranks at bigger clubs.
Homegrown club captain Kirian Rodriguez scored the opening goal in their recent win over Atletico Madrid, while Araujo is joined in the squad by Maximo Perrone, a midfielder on the books of European champions Manchester City, among other talented players. The make-up of the squad and the style of football played makes it easy for local fans to get behind, and gives a reason for fans from outside of Spain to pay attention.
"This is a club that has a lot of ambition and an island that loves football. I am learning a lot and cherishing the moment. I have been accepted here with open arms from the first day," Araujo continued.
"It doesn't matter where you go in Gran Canaria but you can always see Las Palmas tops, and you get a lot of support. That unity is a beautiful feeling and you are aware how important this club is."
The defender settled in nicely with Las Palmas, playing in the last 10 league matches to propel the Spanish side to 10th in the table with 17 points from 12 matches, with five wins and two draws so far. Araujo even found the back of the net in the Copa del Rey match against Manacor to inspire a 3-0 victory.
"I have had a lot of minutes here and I am adjusting well here, the coach has given me a lot of confidence," he added. "I am working hard every day to keep improving and that improves my chances for both club and national team."
Araujo has 11 senior caps from Mexico and is hoping his spell on the island will help him solidify his place in the international setup, as well as help him improve as a player with a return to Barcelona currently slated for the end of the current season.
This article was originally published on 90min as Julian Araujo reveals it was always his 'dream' to play in LaLiga.
