Barcelona hopes to sell Samuel Umtiti and Clément Lenglet in the summer, writes ASH Friday. According to the sports newspaper, both defenders are not in the plans of coach Ronald Koeman. A departure from Umtiti is considered necessary, while Lenglet’s situation is described as ‘more flexible’. In the worst case scenario, Lenglet could stay at Barcelona, but the club has a strong preference for a sale.
Umtiti puts a heavy burden on the salary budget with his salary of approximately 234 thousand euros per week, or more than 12 million euros per year. His fee is increasingly seen as a problem: not only are Barcelona trying to reduce salary costs because of the financial problems, Umtiti also does not justify his high income with his game, according to the club management. The ‘consensus’ within the club is therefore that Umtiti ‘under no circumstances’ will still play for Barcelona after the summer, according to the sports newspaper. His injury sensitivity was long seen as a mitigating circumstance, but now Barcelona concludes that he simply brings too little. Umtiti played only thirteen league matches last season.
He missed the first three months of the season due to knee problems; in previous seasons, Umtiti has been plagued by foot, calf, knee and hamstring injuries, which have left him regularly in the rags basket. His contract runs for two more years. President Joan Laporta does not want to allow Umtiti to take another year’s salary and plans to issue a clear ultimatum: the stopper will leave, or he will be cut off from the rest of the roster, it is said. The situation regarding Lenglet is ‘less problematic’, but he can also look forward to a new club. The compatriot of Umtiti extended in October last year until mid-2026.
Lenglet himself has expressed his intention to stay in Barcelona. However, his club takes into account that there will be interest in the Frenchman, especially if he knows a good European Championship; However, Lenglet is expected to start as a bench seat in the France national team. Should he stay at Barcelona, Koeman will “hold the door open for him” as he is seen internally as a player who represents serious transfer value. However, Koeman also knows that he has too many centre-backs in his squad, including Gerard Pique, Ronald Araújo, Eric García, Óscar Mingueza, Umtiti and Lenglet.