Samuel Umtiti sets condition to leave Barcelona in the summer

The last time Samuel Umtiti played 20+ games in a season for Barcelona was back in 2017-18 season. The Frenchman arrived in 2016 from Olympique Lyon and within a year won the support of cules, quickly forming an unassailable duo with Gerard Pique in the heart of the backline.

Umtiti was robust, brave and uncompromising, a real monster on top of his game making Barcelona almost impenetrable. Umtiti sat in the bracket of those Barca players who were untouchable in the lineup. The world could’ve turned upside down and Umtiti would’ve still retained the place in the team.

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The Frenchman went into the 2018 World Cup as one of the best defenders in the world during that time. France comprehensively won the World Cup and Umtiti was the central piece in the defence. The Frenchman achieved the ultimate football glory but all victories come at an inevitable cost.

Umtiti played the entire World Cup by forcing his knee to the extreme limits and beyond. It was Umtiti who went World Cup shopping but the price had to be paid by Barcelona.

The knee ruptured and till this date, the centre back has never been able to revive himself. Since the 2018 World Cup, Umtiti has missed a total of 63 games for Barcelona due to injuries out of which 54 have been due to knee related problems.

Even though the Frenchman finally has put some of his injury worries to bed and looks to be getting in the groove, the time for him at Camp Nou has almost run out. A fit Umtiti can command the defence, his performances against Granada and Elche act as a testament.

Samuel Umtiti could be on his way to Barcelona exit this summer

Granted that the aforementioned sides are not particularly the most elite sides, there is still some ray of hope for Umtiti, there could still be light at the end of the tunnel. However, Barcelona have run out of patience with him and are ready to move on. The rise of Ronald Araujo and Oscar Mingueza along with the potential arrival of Eric Garcia in the summer puts big questions over the future of Umtiti.

Joan Laporta wants to sign Erling Braut Haaland in the summer but for a transfer of that financial magnitude to take place, the Catalans will have to sell a number of players. Laporta is willing to say goodbye to Umtiti to free up space in the squad and also lighten the load on the wage budget. However, the Frenchman won’t easily leave the Blaugrana.

According to French publication Le10 Sport, Umtiti is unwilling to give up on the hefty financial package that he earns at Barcelona. As per the report, the 27-year-old roughly pockets around 15 million euros annually and doesn’t want to give up the financial comfort.

Umtiti will be open to a transfer only if the interested party can match his current salary or come close in a similar bracket. This could be a huge stumbling block for the Catalans as there will hardly be any clubs who could offer Umtiti a similar package in the current scenario.

Will Samuel Umtiti leave Barcelona this summer?