The French centre-back has signed a five-year contract with the club, according to the official Barcelona site.
Speculation over Umtiti’s future became a recurring theme over the season with a gradual increase in rumours near the end. This was because he had a €60 million release clause in his contract, so other clubs saw an opportunity. However, Barcelona have acted efficiently by tying him down to a new contract and increasing his wages to reflect his importance in the squad.
Umtiti is the perfect centre-back for Barcelona because he combines a strong physical presence with technical ability and excellent tactical awareness as well as intelligence. This makes him a tough proposition to beat for any attacker, while also ensuring that he can comfortably play a major role in build-up. He is only 24-years-old, so he has the potential to be the best in the world in his position.
His key role in the team is shown by the fact that he played a total of 3359 minutes across all three major competitions. This meant he played the eighth highest amount of minutes across the entire squad, with injuries limiting that as well. He was only in 43 matchday squads, but was involved in 40 games.
Umtiti’s form did dip during the second half of the season, although he started at a really high level which was always going to be hard to sustain. However, his contract situation probably played a big part in that. Therefore, he’s unlikely to have issues next season.
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Foregone conclusion?
Manchester United were the popular destination, but it always seemed unlikely that he would move there. This appears to have been an attempt by his agent to take advantage of his consistency for the club. He had the leverage because he was one of the top centre-backs in the world last season.
There isn’t any details about what the release clause is, but hopefully the club has learned their lesson. It only creates speculation around the player if it is too low, so there should be no risks taken in this regard.
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The deal comes at a good time because it ensures that business is done early by the club in a key area. It also enables Umtiti to purely focus on the upcoming World Cup with the French national team. Therefore, it’s good for both parties and it ensures the club have long-term stability in that area.
How this will affect transfer business is unknown. Clement Lenglet is reportedly joining the club, regardless of what happened with Umtiti’s contract. However, he will definitely be third choice now, which isn’t the best for his career. Barcelona have also been heavily linked with talented youngster Matthijs De Ligt; he is seen as a potential long-term option for the centre-back role. Having Umtiti eases his transition if he does eventually join, although that is likely to be a while away.