Now Ex-FC Barcelona Defender Joins New Club After Terminating Contract

A former FC Barcelona defender has signed for a new club after terminating his contract.

At the end of June, Samuel Umtiti and Barca reached an agreement to release the player from the last three years left on his deal.

“Barcelona and Umtiti have reached an agreement to release the player from the contract binding him to the club until the end of the 2025/26 season,” an official statement read.

“The club wishes to express its gratitude to Umtiti and wishes him every fortune and success in the future.”

This made the Frenchman a free agent amid the end of a loan assignment at Lecce in the Italian Serie A.

Three weeks later, the 29-year-old has been announced as the latest acquisition by Lille in his homeland.

Umtiti has penned a two-year deal with the 2020/2021 Ligue 1 champions, who are currently managed by Paulo Fonseca.

As the Portuguese head coach guided them to a fifth place finish in his maiden season last time out, Umtiti is guaranteed European football next term in the Conference League.

Umtiti arrives to replace Fonseca’s compatriot Jose Fonte in central defense after he returned home to play for Braga.

A move back to his boyhood club Lyon didn’t materialize for Umtiti, who has a point to prove that he still belongs in the elite.

Joining Barca from Lyon in 2016 for a €25 million ($28 million) fee, he displaced Argentine legend Javier Mascherano on the back line under Luis Enrique to partner Gerard Pique in central defense.

At Russia 2018, Umtiti was similarly a mainstay for Didier Deschamps alongside then-Real Madrid star Raphael Varane, as Les Bleus roared to a second World Cup win.

Those exploits led to a pay rise under ex-president Josep Bartomeu, yet a series of knee injuries and the refusal to undergo surgery knocked him out of the picture for club and country.

Umtiti did cash-strapped Barca a favor post-pandemic by agreeing a contract extension and spreading his pay over a longer period so that they could register some players in January 2022.

He proved difficult to sell, however, influencing his contract termination as there was no way into the plans of the Catalans’ current leader Xavi Hernandez with firm competition from the likes of Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen and Jules Kounde.

Things did look up for Umtiti in Italy where he made 25 appearances, remained mostly injury free, and became a fan favourite by helping Lecce stay in Serie A.

At Lille, he will look to return his new employers to the Champions League and possibly wrest the domestic championship title back from behemoths Paris Saint-Germain.