Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti and the 50 missing games
He forced his knee to win the cup but has paid the price since
Samuel Umtiti's Barcelona career is marked by a success which he is still paying for today: the 2018 World Cup win with France. Big Sam arrived at Barça in 2016 with complete focus on the 2018 World Cup and he's not been the same player for the Catalan club ever since. His numbers between 2016-2018 and 2018-2020 could not be more different.
Umtiti moved to Camp Nou after Euro 2016 with Luis Enrique still in charge. He soon took Javier Mascherano's place alongside Gerard Pique. His status as a regular was maintained -- even strengthened -- the following season under Ernesto Valverde when he won his first league title at the club.
Across those two seasons, Umtiti played 83 official games: 43 in the first and 40 in the second. However, at the end of the second campaign, the problems with his knee began. At first, it didn't seem that worrying, but that has not proved the case.
Confession
In reality, Umtiti pushed himself too much at the World Cup, as he confessed in an interview with Canal+ in France: "I forced the knee during the tournament. But now I am a world champion. In life, you have to make decisions and I don't regret that one."
The centre-back returned to the Barça side after the World Cup but he only lasted until Sept. 26. At the end of a game at Butarque against Leganes, he noticed that his knee was not working properly. It was the start of the problems.
In the following two seasons, Umtiti played just 33 games, 50 less than in his first two seasons at the club. He now hopes, in his fifth season at Camp Nou, that things will turn in his favour.
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