FC Barcelona terminates Samuel Umtiti's contract

BARCELONA: FC Barcelona and the French defender Samuel Umtiti reached an agreement to release the defender from the contract which was supposed to keep him with the club until the end of the 2025/26 season on Friday.

The club released an official statement to announce the departure of the defender as quoted by the club's official website, "FC Barcelona wishes to express its gratitude to Umtiti and wishes him every fortune and success in the future.

With two league titles and three cups, Samuel Umtiti is now severing ties completely with Barca, but will be taking away memories as fond as those that the club will have of him."

Umtiti has been a part of the club's history for seven years. During his time in Spain, he spent a lot of time on the sideline due to injury issues. But he enjoyed an injury-free season in Italy, where he was able to once again get close to his best level in terms of his defensive abilities. He ended up playing 25 games for the Serie A side Lecce.

Umtiti came to Barcelona in 2016 from Ligue 1 outfit Olympique Lyon, where he had spent his whole career. In his injury-free years, Umtiti and Gerard Pique were the main central defenders for the club and they ended up forming a formidable defensive pair. Umtiti lifted the World Cup with France in 2018, and after that moment injuries started to interrupt his progress.

He lost his place in the playing XI, with Eric Garcia and Ronald Araujo becoming the key players for the club, and he finally decided to leave for Italy to get more time on the field.

But his latest form has turned out to be insufficient in order to force his way back into Barca's plans. The likes of Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Jules Kounde and Eric Garcia are already fighting for two centre-back spots. The Frenchman will now be looking to move to a different club.