Néstor Araujo

Néstor Alejandro Araujo Razo (born 29 August 1991) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga MX club América. He is an Olympic gold medalist.

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.

He competed internationally since 2011: Araujo played at the 2011 Copa America, 2012 Toulon Tournament, Copa America Centenario, and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. He was on the Mexico team at the 2012 Summer Olympics that won the gold medal.

Cruz Azul
Araujo joined Cruz Azul's youth academy in 2007, making his way through the Cruz Azul Premier team and the under-20s. For the Clausura 2009 season, Araujo was registered to Cruz Azul Hidalgo squad, but did not played a single match.

In 2010, Enrique Meza promoted Araujo to the first team. On 19 September, he 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 club Celta de Vigo on a five-year contract. On 21 July, he made his debut in a friendly match against Espanyol.

América
On 24 June 2022, Araujo returned to Mexico and joined Club América on permanent basis. In September 2023, he suffered a knee injury and was ruled out for the rest of the season.

International career
Araujo 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.

Araujo 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 the pitch after 15 minutes when 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 recovery.

Araujo was part of the squad that won the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

In October 2022, Araujo was named in Mexico's preliminary 31-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and in November, he was ultimately included in the final 26-man roster.

Personal life
Néstor has an older brother, Félix, who is also a professional footballer.

International

 * Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Araujo goal.

Honours
Cruz Azul
 * Copa MX: Clausura 2013

Santos Laguna
 * Liga MX: Clausura 2015, Clausura 2018
 * Copa MX: Apertura 2014
 * Campeón de Campeones: 2015

América
 * Liga MX: Apertura 2023, Clausura 2024
 * Campeón de Campeones: 2024
 * Supercopa de la Liga MX: 2024

Mexico U20
 * CONCACAF U-20 Championship: 2011

Mexico U23
 * Pan American Games: 2011
 * Toulon Tournament: 2012
 * CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship: 2012
 * Olympic Gold Medal: 2012

Mexico
 * CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2019

Individual
 * Liga MX Best XI: Clausura 2017
 * Liga MX Best Defender: 2016–17
 * CONCACAF Nations League Finals Best XI: 2021