Samuel Umtiti, who has left Barcelona and is living on rent in Lecce, Italy, is showing satisfaction.

He was a promising resource from France. Although he was not tall at 182 cm, he excelled in jumping and gained an advantage in aerial competitions with tall strikers and showed solid interpersonal defense skills. He is a rare left-footed center back who also has good passing ability, so he was often involved in the build-up. He has good ball control and was often seen participating in attacks, and he was evaluated as one of the best defenders in the world.메이저사이트

Indeed, his potential is extraordinary. He made his senior debut at Olympique Lyonnais in the 2011–12 season when he was just 18 years old and gained experience by playing in 12 league matches. After receiving a passing grade this season, he was dropped as the team’s main player from the 2012-13 season and experienced a steep rise.

After developing into the best defender in French Ligue 1, he headed to Barcelona in the 2016-17 season. At the time, Barcelona invested a considerable amount of 25 million euros (approximately 35.4 billion won) and used it as a major resource from the first year of the transfer. His first two seasons were fine. Umtiti consistently played more than 20 league games and showed a stable appearance.

But his injuries got in the way. In the middle of the 2018-19 season, he suffered a long-term injury due to a knee injury and went through a long rehabilitation period of about 5 months. After that, he returned, but his performance was not as good as before, and he spent more time on the bench than starting. From this point on, the temperament of the glass body was manifested, and Umtiti was consistently listed on the injury list every season and did not play in 20 games throughout the season.

Despite long suffering from injury, Barcelona couldn’t let go of his talent and signed a new contract until 2026. However, even after extending his contract, Umtiti’s physical condition did not return to its original state. Umtiti’s record last season was only 1 league game.

In the end, Barcelona declared ‘giving up’. It turned Umtiti into a ‘resource other than electricity’ and promoted its sale. However, due to his expensive weekly wage, no team wanted to sign him outright. Ahead of this season, he was sent on loan to Lecce, but this was also done on the condition that Barcelona subsidize most of his weekly wage.

Renting Lecce was a godsend. Umtiti has shown impressive defensive prowess in 23 league appearances and is very happy with his loan life. Umtiti shed tears at the hospitality of Lecce fans.

Spanish media ‘Sport’ said, “Umtiti has already completed adaptation to Lecce. He likes all parts of the team, including the atmosphere, colleagues, and coach, and believes in the coach’s ability. For the first time in many years, he is a football player. I felt like I was doing my part properly.”

Umtiti also expressed satisfaction. “The only thing I wanted was to feel appreciated, useful and respected,” he told French broadcaster Canal Plus. ) I realized that no one believed me anymore. In Salento (Southern Italy where Lecce is located) I got my smile back. Thank you.