Barcelona Terminates Samuel Umtiti's Contract (1 Viewer)

[MartinGee]

Barcelona has officially announced the termination of Samuel Umtiti's contract at Camp Nou, and this decision has been mutually agreed upon by both the club and the player. The 29-year-old defender joined Barcelona from Lyon in the summer of 2016 and went on to make 134 appearances for the club, scoring two goals during his tenure.

During his seven-year stay at Barcelona, Umtiti contributed to the team's success, helping them secure two La Liga titles and three Copa del Rey trophies. However, he fell out of favor in the latter part of his time at the club. As a result, Umtiti was loaned out to Lecce for the previous season, where he made 25 appearances for the Serie A side, who faced a challenging campaign fighting off relegation.

Lecce managed to avoid relegation, finishing in 16th place, five points ahead of 18th-placed Hellas Verona. Despite his reasonably successful loan spell in Italy, Umtiti was unable to convince Barcelona to reintegrate him into the first-team plans under manager Xavi for the upcoming season.

"FC Barcelona and the player Samuel Umtiti have reached an agreement for the release of the contract that the player had with the Club until the end of the 2025/26 season," the club's statement read, published on Friday.

"FC Barcelona expresses its gratitude to Umtiti and wishes him luck and success in the future."

Initially set to run until the summer of 2026, the agreement between Samuel Umtiti and Barcelona has been altered, as the club suggested a mutual termination of his contract, which the player willingly accepted.

This departure of the center-back will alleviate some of the financial burdens faced by the Catalan club. However, it is known that Xavi's team is still actively seeking to offload additional high-earning players before the closure of the transfer window.