Former France defender opens up on “rift” in Catalonia after retiring at age 31
Samuel Umtiti has been speaking on how his relationship with Barcelona broke down during his injury-hit years. The defender said a long series of knee injuries and disagreements over treatment left him isolated and mentally drained during his final seasons at the club.
The French defender left Barcelona in 2023 after persistent knee problems led to a mutual termination of his contract. He joined Lille on a free transfer before ultimately retiring from football in September 2025 at the age of 31.
Umtiti was a regular starter for Barcelona between 2016 and 2018. He helped the team win the league title in 2018 before going ahead to lift the World Cup with France in the same year. But the knee injury he picked up during that tournament changed his career.
“After the World Cup, I wanted to take some time to find out exactly what I had and make the right decisions about my treatment,” said Umtiti.
“We weren’t necessarily in agreement with the club, so I decided to look elsewhere, to see specialists so that everyone could give me their opinion. Most of them told me that I didn’t need to have surgery. In the end, Barcelona listened to my choice, to what I wanted.”
He said his choices were not well received by some at the club and it began to cause tensions.
“I think there were things that happened internally that people didn’t necessarily appreciate,” said Umtiti.
“I have enormous respect for everyone. Just because I’m not doing my rehabilitation with you doesn’t mean I don’t love you. No, it’s just that I had decided on something else because what you offered me didn’t work out.
“But ultimately, from that moment on, I think the rift was created and people started talking, saying things that weren’t necessarily true, putting all the blame on me. The most important thing for me was to come back.”
Umtiti played very little football after the World Cup as the swelling in his knee persisted. He said although he received plenty of criticism at the time, he was doing a lot of work behind the scenes in the hope of getting back on the pitch.
“Looking back, I know that mentally I was very affected by it, perhaps by the bouts of depression,” said Umtiti.
“There were so many things. I didn’t even leave my house. People didn’t know all of this. They thought: ‘Anyway, if he doesn’t show anything on social media, it means he’s not doing anything.’
“But I worked so hard, I was doing two or three training sessions a day, I had a prep course. It was incredible what I was doing, I didn’t even really have a life, I didn’t see my friends.”
The Frenchman was frustrated by the suggestion in some corners that he didn’t care about playing football and was only interested in getting paid.
“When I read everything that came out in the press, I thought to myself: ‘How can they think that about me? I’m not like that, money isn’t what motivates me. I just wanted to play football.’
“I tried to do things the way the club wanted, but it didn’t work. My knee was always swollen. I decided to do things differently, but I still followed the advice I was given because I’m not a doctor.
“Some people didn’t necessarily do what they should have done, and for me, when you’re a professional, you can’t be that incompetent. I had a lot of resentment before, but I’ve done a lot of work and I don’t hold a grudge against anyone. I’m at peace with all of that.”
