Michel Daryl Araújo Villar

The transfer that took Michel Araújo to Bahia in January 2025 was 2.5m euros fixed, with the settlement of the player's debt to his previous club pushing Bahia's total outlay to around 17.3m Brazilian reais. He signed until 2028 and took the number 15.

The Uruguayan came up at Racing Club in Montevideo, where he turned professional in 2016 and eventually made 65 appearances with 11 goals. A season on loan at Villa Teresa in 2017 brought 14 matches and six goals.

Fluminense paid 800,000 US dollars for 50 per cent of his economic rights in 2020, but much of his time on their books was spent elsewhere. The loan to Al-Wasl in 2021-22 was 33 matches and 13 goals across all competitions, including six in seven UAE League Cup ties.

He returned to Brazil with São Paulo in 2023 and played almost every week — 50 appearances, four goals and three assists, spread across the Série A, the Copa Libertadores and the Copa do Brasil. São Paulo bought his rights outright from Fluminense in June 2024 for 1.6m euros. The second season was quieter: 30 matches, no goals. Six months after making the move permanent, São Paulo sold him to Bahia.

A left-footed midfielder, he has not been capped by Uruguay and has won no individual awards.