Barcelona missed deadline on Julian Araujo paperwork by “less than a minute” - report

Barcelona could not complete the signing of LA Galaxy full-back Julian Araujo on Deadline Day as they missed the 12am time limit by less than a minute, according to multiple reports from Catalan media.

The Blaugrana spent the last 24 hours negotiating a deal for the Mexican youngster and had finally reached a deal with Galaxy that was then approved by Major League Soccer. But a slight delay in finishing up the documents meant that the contract was not sent in time to the Spanish Federation offices, so the deal was not completed.

But Barça have not given up yet. The Catalans will appeal to FIFA on Wednesday looking to present enough evidence that they indeed sent the paperwork through in time and hope that the decision is overturned and they can announce Araujo’s signing. It’s a huge mess, and yet another example of why Deadline Day is pure madness.