Néstor Araujo


Néstor Alejandro Araujo Razo is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a defender for Spanish club Celta Vigo and the Mexico national team.
Araujo began his career with Cruz Azul in 2010, and played with the club for three years before joining Santos Laguna, initially in a loan deal which the club made permanent the following year. At Santos, he played in over 100 matches, winning the Liga MX on two occasions.
A Mexican international since 2011, Araujo has represented his country at the 2011 Copa America, 2012 Toulon Tournament, Copa America Centenario, and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. He also won the Olympic gold medal with Mexico at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Club career

Cruz Azul

Araujo joined Cruz Azul's youth academy in 2007, making his way through the Cruz Azul Premier team and the under-20s.
In 2010, Enrique Meza promoted Araujo to the first team. On 19 September, Araujo made his Primera División debut for Cruz Azul, playing 90 minutes in the 3–0 home victory against Querétaro.

Santos Laguna

On 5 June 2013, Araujo joined Santos Laguna on a year-long loan deal with an option to buy. He made his league debut on 26 July against his former club Cruz Azul, playing the entire match as Santos earned a 3–2 victory. On 19 August 2014, Araujo scored his first goal for Santos in a 3–0 win over UAT in the Copa MX. He won his first cup with Santos Laguna following their victory over Puebla in the final of the Apertura Copa MX. The following year, Araujo won his first league title as Santos defeated Querétaro in the finals of the Clausura tournament. On 20 July, Santos defeated Club América to win the 2015 Campeón de Campeones cup; Araujo started the match and played all 90 minutes.
In May 2018, Santos Laguna defeated Toluca to win the Clausura tournament following a 3–2 aggregate score in the finals. Araujo missed the finals due to an injury he suffered while on international duty with the Mexico national team.

Celta de Vigo

On 14 June 2018, Araujo joined Spanish outfit Celta de Vigo on a five-year contract. On 21 July, he made his debut in a friendly match against Espanyol.

International career

He received his first international call up in 2011 during the 2011 Copa America. In his international debut, he scored in a 2–1 loss against Chile during their first group stage match. He would go on to appear in the rest of the group stage matches and Mexico would end up last in the group. He would not be called up again until 2016.
He would be an international regular under Juan Carlos Osorio, participating in various friendlies, the CONCACAF 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the Copa America Centenario, and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.
On 27 March 2018, during a friendly match against Croatia, Araujo was forced off after 15 minutes after suffering an knee injury. He was sidelined since then, however in May he was named in Mexico’s preliminary 28-man squad for the World Cup in Russia but had to withdraw due to experiencing tendonitis during his injury recovery.

International goals

Personal life

Araujo has an older brother, Félix, who is also a professional footballer.

Honours

Club

;Cruz Azul
;Santos Laguna
;Mexico Youth
;Mexico