Lionel Messi has absolutely lost patience with Barcelona outcast
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has been carrying the team practically single-handedly and has blamed one key figure for their debacles.
Barcelona continued to chase Real Madrid at the top of La Liga following their nervy win against Real Betis. Once again, it was Lionel Messi who bailed them out by setting up all the goals in a 3-2 triumph, but Quique Setien continued to have a headache over his defence that shipped two more goals extending its poor track record in away matches.
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Gerard Pique was suspended from the outing against the Barca manager’s former side, and so Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti were given the nod at the centre of defence. Unsurprisingly, the Blaugrana happened to struggle without their main man at the back but Umtiti disappointed once again with a rather dismal performance.
Diario GOL has reported that the France international’s days at the Camp Nou are all but numbered and he will be leaving the club in the summer. A series of dismal displays has seen Umtiti’s chances of representing France at the Euro 2020 fade and the former Lyon man does not want to take a risk with his spot at the 2022 World Cup by playing sporadically.
Against Real Betis, Umtiti was more or less playing backward passes to the goalkeeper on most occasions and seemed to be reacting slowly on the ball, something that could be catastrophic for the team against high pressing teams. While Barca must offload their deadweight, they must first sign a replacement for Umtiti.
Jean-Clair Todibo is currently on loan at Schalke, but there are doubts whether the Frenchman is ready for first-team football at a club of Barcelona’s calibre. A central defender is not even a top priority for Barca, who are pursuing a transfer for a striker before anyone else and will need to save money for one. For the time being, they are certainly in a tightrope over Umtiti but it will be interesting to see how they react in the summer.
Next. Barcelona line-up a transfer for Premier League flop. dark
Where do you think Umtiti would go in the summer and how much is the right price for him?