Two months out from his 32nd birthday, a former Barcelona star is reportedly preparing to hang up his boots and retire.
The player, who was part of France’s 2018 World Cup-winning team in Russia, has been besieged by injuries for a number of years.
That player in question is defender Samuel Umtiti.
Umtiti remains a free agent after leaving LOSC Lille this summer and French outlet RMC Sport are now reporting that he has sought permission from one of his former clubs to record a retirement announcement.
The Cameroon-born defender started his career in Lyon’s youth academy before graduating into the first team in 2012, spending four years with the south of France club before landing a blockbuster move to Barcelona.
Despite winning two LaLiga titles in Catalonia, Umtiti’s time at Barcelona was decimated by injury, best underlined by the fact he sat out for a total of 622 days between 2016 and 2022.
Former Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti (second from left) is reportedly ready to retire
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World Cup winner Umtiti saw his time at Barcelona ruined by persistent injury problems
A loan move to Lecce was hoped to kickstart his career again and in the 2022-23 season he made 25 appearances, convincing Lille to make a move to bring him back to France.
All this time Umtiti was not on the radar of the French national team having not featured for Les Bleus since a European Championship qualifier against Turkey in June 2019.
But, as RMC Sport have reported, Umtiti has been back at Lyon’s facilities in recent weeks, not on trail but reportedly putting his ducks in a row to announce his retirement.
While there is no official confirmation at this stage it appears that Umtiti is imminently planning to bring the curtain down on his professional career.
