7 days ago, Barca's official news made fans rush to tell them that Umtiti had cut his salary, not only freeing up salary space to register Felan Torres, but also laying the foundation for the next transfer or loan. Because the salary is lower, the obstacle is much smaller. Sure enough, after that, there was news that Barca intended to leave Umtiti on loan.
But just as Barca fans were expecting the "nail household" who had been "nailing" at Camp Nou for several years to leave, a turning point came. Earlier, Barca issued another official announcement that Umtiti was injured. And this time the injury was during training, the 5th metatarsal bone of the right foot was fractured. He will undergo surgery on Dr. Anthony Dalmo on Tuesday.
The 5th metatarsal, this one heard less, deliberately checked it. This kind of injury usually occurs in the foot, because the ligament is attached to the back of the fifth metatarsal bone, so the ligament may be broken at the moment of the foot, and the fracture can be divided into 3 types. The first is a relatively small area one fracture, if the fracture is smaller and the displacement is less obvious, most of the cast can be treated conservatively. When in zone 2 or 3, the fracture displacement in this area is more pronounced, which may cause problems with blood circulation, and surgery is generally recommended.
In Umtiti's case, he was supposed to be in Zone 2 or Zone 3 and therefore needed surgery. As a result, Umtiti, who has only played for Barca once more this season, has not only evaded the transfer window once again, but may even be over this season.
Truth be told, Barca fans have become numb to Umtiti's endless injuries. Since joining Barca in the summer window of 2016, with this injury, Umtiti has suffered a total of 16 injuries before, after a total of 503 days of absences. Therefore, seeing such news, more reaction is to treat it as a joke. "We're professionally trained and generally don't laugh unless we can't help it." Here to borrow a classic movie dialogue, it is very able to describe the mood of the fans at this moment.
In the 2017-18 season, Umtiti highlighted a season, then renewed a sky-high contract with Barca, and has been a super VIP in Barca's "lounge" ever since. Barca's top brass repeatedly hoped to clear it out of the squad, but was evaded again and again by Umtiti. Not long ago, Barca executives finally persuaded him to cut his salary, but at the cost of extending the life of the contract, from 2023 to 2026. And Umtiti's injury this time not only disrupted the plans of Barca's top brass, but also most likely completely frustrated their wishful thinking.
The reason is simple, because Umtiti is so "brittle", even more "brittle" than Dembele. After this injury, it will certainly be difficult for him to leave the team in this summer window. Because no team is willing to pay for a player who has not performed well this season and has serious injuries. And when next season starts, God knows what will happen to Umtiti, who can be injured in training to go to surgery. You know, next season Umtiti will be 29 years old, no longer young, and the injury risk will be even greater.
So, in the worst case scenario, Barca's renewal this time is equivalent to giving Umtiti a "lifetime contract". By the end of the contract in 2026, Umtiti is 33 years old, and with his physical condition, he can basically consider retiring. According to statistics, since the renewal of the contract, Umtiti, who holds a contract with an annual salary of 12 million, has only played 51 games for Barca in the past four seasons, and has only played 1 game this season, which is a proper winner in life.