Ronald Araujo the first player to ask openly for Leo Messi's return
The Uruguayan said he would sign the Argentine forward if he was in charge
Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo said if he was the club's sporting director he would sign Lionel Messi next summer on a free transfer from Sevilla.
Araujo will miss the Clasico on Sunday through injury but spoke to El Club del Deportista, where he was asked about signings and Karim Benzema, Real Madrid's talisman.
"If I was sporting director I would sign Messi for FC Barcelona," he said.
"Benzema is a player with very intelligent movement and tremendous quality," continued Araujo. "He knows when to stop himself, when to play in team-mates and you always have to take a lot of care when you face him."
He also spoke about working with Xavi. "We've been working together for a while, at the beginning, it was hard because he came with new ideas, things that had not been done for years here. He's trying to restore Barca's philosophy, and I think now we can get the fruits of the work we've been doing since he arrived."
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