Samuel Umtiti's descent into hell

BarcelonaSamuel Umtiti's ordeal is over. After a season without playing a single minute for Lille and not finding a team, the French centre-back, who touched the sky in 2018 with the World Cup, bids farewell to the pitch at the age of 31 (he will turn 32 on November 14). He did so with a video in which he appears at the Olympique Lyonnais stadium, the headquarters club, as he reviews his career. In the video, posted on Instagram, he speaks in French and is subtitled in English and Catalan. "In Catalonia, I've learned a lot, but I've also discovered a side of football that no one is really prepared for," he says, referring to the place where his career began to decline due to injuries. It was precisely knee problems that caused Umtiti to fold. His last match was on January 21, 2024: 90 minutes in the Coupe de France with a 1-0 victory at Racing Club de France. 603 days later, he announced the end of his sporting career.

Signed by Barça in the summer of 2016, Umtiti was one of the most promising center backs of the era. Bartomeu paid 25 million to Lyon for the 22-year-old defender. In his first two seasons, he demonstrated his quality with 83 appearances, but the 2018 World Cup in Russia changed everything. Despite a report prepared by Dr. Ricard Pruna that advised against giving him a long-term contract due to the condition of his knee even before the World Cup, Bartomeu opted to renew it until 2023 because the Frenchman's representatives threatened to leave, citing offers from the Premier League.

Umtiti was a champion with France, where he was key both in defense and attack, scoring a goal in the semifinals against Belgium (1-0), but his professional career would begin a downward spiral from then on. The knee pain would never subside, and he opted for several conservative treatments despite Barça's medical team insisting that surgery was the best option. Umtiti was reluctant to undergo surgery because he had already had it during his youth training and had a bad memory of it. The origin of the problems was an arthroscopy he underwent at the age of 17., when he played in the youth teams of Lyon, to have his meniscus removed. The postoperative period and recovery were complicated, which explains the player's reservations about undergoing surgery again.

His performance plummeted.

His performance plummeted. In the following four seasons at Barça, Umtiti only played 51 matches, a total of 3,548 minutes spread out over various stretches (the equivalent of just 39 full matches over four seasons). All of this forced the Blaugrana club to live with a player who had a salary of around 20 million gross per season despite being a footballer almost unfit for elite football. Finally, in the summer of 2023—and after renewing his contract in January 2022 to spread out his salary—an agreement was reached to terminate his contract by paying a generous portion of his guaranteed salary.

His main burden was localized osteoarthritis of traumatic origin in his left knee. That is, a joint problem that affects the cartilage, which is the cushioning tissue that prevents bones from rubbing against each other. The absence or degeneration of this tissue causes pain and hinders the joint's functioning. Having affected the cartilage is what has prevented him from competing regularly at the top level. It wasn't until he arrived at Lille that he went under the knife again.

On February 16, 2024, Umtiti underwent "an arthroscopy to remove a small piece of cartilage," as reported by the French club. Already then, his coach, Paulo Fonseca, told the press: "I don't know how long he'll be unavailable. Maybe it's a long time. Honestly, I don't know and I prefer not to comment. I may have the opportunity to play again, but it's difficult to say." A premonition that has ended up being confirmed with his retirement.

In August of last year, Umtiti underwent a second knee operation, but it was too late. The player had already disappeared from the football and social media scene. Until his retirement video, his last football-related Instagram post was from September 18, 2023, in which he appeared playing a match with Lille. Riqui Puig, Ansu Fati, Sergi Roberto, and Andrés Iniesta have been among the first former Barça players to express their support for him on Instagram. The Barça account also expressed its support: "Thanks, Sam! Good luck in this new phase." A new phase that will be "linked to football," but Umtiti has not specified how.