América renews contract of one of André Jardine’s least-used players

Néstor Araujo has plenty to celebrate - today is his 34th birthday, and to cap it off, he has managed to renew his contract with América - despite not playing an official match for four months.

His football career has been in decline - the veteran center-back made just three appearances in the Clausura 2025, completing the full 90 minutes in just one of them (the opening game against Querétaro). In fact the last time he enjoyed a run of three consecutive games was back in February 2023, just before the current coach André Jardine was appointed.

Araujo’s situation adds to one of those rare episodes that happen in the Liga MX. Just when it seemed like his time at América was over, the player automatically renewed his contract, which had actually expired in June. Without any announcement or fanfare, the defender put pen to paper, pledging to stay on with the Águilas, Alejandro Alfaro reports.

Another year on the bench

Araujo automatically renewed his contract for at least one more year. While he continues to train with the first team, Jardine has not even considered him, preferring Ramón Juárez, Sebastián Cáceres or Igor Lichnovsky at the heart of the back four.

Araujo’s time with América has fallen far short of expectations. In 2022, he left Spanish club Celta Vigo to return to Mexico and join the Águilas. He never found consistency at Coapa and is now completely out of the picture.

He hasn’t played an official match with América since April of this year. His last such match was in the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals, which América lost to Cruz Azul. To make matters worse, he was heavily criticized by the fans for failing to pick up Ángel Sepúlveda in the move that led to the winning goal.

One appearance on the subs’ bench

Araujo not only fell out of favor with the fans, Jardine no longer counts on him. During the current Apertura 2025, he has only been called to the squad once, and ended up watching the 3-1 home win against Tijuana from the bench.

There has been a great deal of speculation regarding his possible departure. Initially, it was mentioned that he could go to Santos, and more recently his name was put forward for Pumas, but nothing came of it. So Araujo is staying where he is - at América, even if Jardine isn’t going to play him.

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