Samuel Umtiti's performance in FC Barcelona's entry season quickly dropped him off the club's starting list. After two outstanding performances from 2016 to 2018, Umtiti won the 2018 World Cup with France and is widely regarded by fans as one of the best defenders in world football. But Umtiti has been away from Barcelona's races since being injured in the race, and when the transfer window opened this summer, he was linked to leaving Camp Nou, but he appeared to lack suitors, causing Barcelona to fail to unload him this year.
According to an article in the Catalan newspaper, Samuel Umtiti met with club owner Laporta in August, during which he explained how much effort he had put into achieving complete health, and Umtiti burst into tears as he recounted the difficulties he encountered on the sidelines, Umtiti said the club's medical staff failed to properly identify the problem with his knee and only operated on him, which posed a serious obstacle to his future health and physical recovery, Umtiti also said, He went elsewhere out of his own pocket to seek medical advice to overcome the injury problems that plagued him in the last years of his career, with Umtiti informing the club president that he intended to fight for the first-team position this season.
Laporta later admitted that FC Barcelona failed to support at the lowest point in Umtiti. At this point Umtiti began to cry, and finally breathed a sigh of relief as Laporta accepted his claim. The two then embraced, with Laporta telling Umtiti he would be talking to Barcelona coach Ronald Koman about his situation and making sure to deal with his problems with the team. Will Umtiti's performance make Barca fans sympathetic to Umtiti, will Umtiti have a place in Koman's squad? Only time will tell, so let's wait and see.
Umtiti has excellent physical condition, anticipation and the ability to play the ball, which is highly demanding from the defender. He debuted at the Lyon Academy as a centre forward and later switched to playing as a defender. He joined Barcelona in 2016 and helped the Spanish giants win 2 La Liga titles, 2 Copa del Rey and 2 Spanish Super Cups. He also won the 2018 World Cup in Russia with France. The defender has scored two goals in his 132 appearances at Barcelona since his move to Barcelona from Lyon in July 2016.