Julián Araujo
Mexican footballer (born 2001)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Julián Vicente Araujo Zúñiga (born 13 August 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Scottish Premiership club Celtic on loan from Premier League club AFC Bournemouth. Born in the United States, he plays for the Mexico national team.[4]
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Araujo with Barcelona in 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Julián Vicente Araujo Zúñiga[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 13 August 2001[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Lompoc, California, United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Right-back | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team |
Celtic (on loan from AFC Bournemouth) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Central Coast Condors | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Santa Barbara Soccer Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Lompoc High School | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Barça Residency Academy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | LA Galaxy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | LA Galaxy II | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2023 | LA Galaxy | 100 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Barcelona | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | → Las Palmas (loan) | 25 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | AFC Bournemouth | 12 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2026– | → Celtic (loan) | 10 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | 16 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 4 March 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 2 July 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Youth
Araujo was born in Lompoc, California, and is of Mexican descent. He attended Lompoc High School[5] for two years, then left home and joined Barça Residency Academy in Casa Grande, Arizona in 2017.[6]
In March 2017, Araujo had committed to playing college soccer at the University of California, Santa Barbara from 2018 onward.[7]
Club career
LA Galaxy II
Araujo made his professional debut in a 2–2 draw with Seattle Sounders 2 on 4 October 2018, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for Nate Shultz.[8]
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.[9]
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.[10]
Barcelona
On 1 February 2023, Barcelona and LA Galaxy agreed on a transfer for Araujo. The paperwork, however, was delivered 18 seconds late,[11] and the deal was left in limbo after FIFA rejected the transfer but the Court of Arbitration for Sport overruled.[12] Ultimately, by 17 February Araujo was transferred to Barcelona.[10]
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]
On 31 October, Araujo scored his first goal with the club in a 3–0 away win against Manacor to advance in the second round of the Copa del Rey.[15] On 1 December, he scored his first league goal with the club, scoring the first goal in their 2–0 win over Getafe.[16] On 7 January 2024, during a Copa del Rey match against Tenerife, Araujo picked up a red card for a violent conduct on Nacho Martínez after Nacho Martínez had gone down in the penalty area. On 10 January, it was announced that he would serve a four-match suspension.[17] He returned a month later on 10 February, coming on in stoppage-time for Marvin Park in their 2–0 win over Valencia.
AFC Bournemouth
On 13 August 2024, Araujo joined Premier League team AFC Bournemouth on a five-year deal.[18] He made his debut on 17 August in a 1–1 away draw against Nottingham Forest.[19]
Loan to Celtic
On 2 January 2026, Araujo joined Scottish Premiership club Celtic on loan for the remainder of the 2025–26 season.[20]
Araujo scored his first Celtic goal on 15 February when he netted a last minute winner against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. In the 97th minute, he swept the ball home with his weaker left foot, then celebrated by jumping into the stand with the Celtic fans and linking arms.[21]
International career
United States
Araujo was eligible to play for the United States and Mexico.[22]
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.[23]
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.[5] He was called up again in December 2020 for a game against El Salvador, in which he made his senior level debut.[24] 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.[25]
On 18 June 2021, Araujo was named to the preliminary 59-player USMNT roster for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup but was left off the final roster on 1 July 2021. Berhalter cited Araujo's dual citizenship and unwillingness to become cap-tied to the USMNT.[26]
Mexico
On 13 August 2021, sports media in Mexico reported that Araujo himself had filed and submitted the one-time switch to FIFA to join Mexico.[27] As of 4 October 2021 FIFA officially approved Araujo's case.[28][29]
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.[30] He was given a starting berth in Mexico's 2–2 draw, playing the full 90 minutes.[31] 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.[32]
In the summer of 2023, Araujo was part of Mexico national team that reached 3rd-place finish at the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals and won the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He also won the latter tournament in 2025.[33]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 8 March 2026[34]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| LA Galaxy II | 2018 | USL | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| LA Galaxy | 2019 | MLS | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1[c] | 0 | 20 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | 17 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 1 | ||||||
| 2021 | 32 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 32 | 0 | ||||||
| 2022 | 33 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 2[d] | 1 | 39 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 100 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 1 | 108 | 2 | ||||
| Barcelona | 2022–23 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Las Palmas (loan) | 2023–24 | La Liga | 25 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 28 | 2 | |||
| Bournemouth | 2024–25 | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2025–26 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||||
| Celtic (loan) | 2025–26 | Scottish Premiership | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[e] | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 149 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 165 | 5 | ||
- Includes U.S. Open Cup, Copa del Rey, Scottish Cup
- Appearance in Leagues Cup
- Appearances in MLS Cup playoffs
- Appearance in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 2 July 2025[35]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 16 | 0 | |
Honours
Celtic
United States
Mexico
Individual
