Samuel Yves Umtiti (French pronunciation:[samɥɛlumtiti];[4] born 14 November 1993), known asSamuel Umtiti, is a French former professionalfootballer who played as acentre-back.
Umtiti began his professional career withLigue 1 clubOlympique Lyonnais in 2012, winning both theCoupe de France andTrophée des Champions in his first year. He totalled 170 games and three goals before a €25 million transfer toLa Liga clubBarcelona in 2016, winning threeCopa del Rey and two league titles whilst a part of the side. After spending a season on loan in Italy withLecce, he returned to France in 2023, joiningLille and ultimately retiring in 2025.
Samuel Umtiti was born inYaoundé,Cameroon. When he was two years old, he and his family moved toLyon,France, first residing in the northeasterncommune ofVilleurbanne before finally settling in the district of Ménival in the5th arrondissement of Lyon a few months later. Umtiti acquiredFrench nationality on 25 September 2008, through the collective effect of his mother'snaturalization, thus making him a citizen of France.[7]
Umtiti playing forLyon againstZenit in November 2015
Umtiti joined the local football club Ménival at the age of five. At nine years old, he joined theOlympique Lyonnais youth academy.[8] He made his first appearance with thesenior team on 16 August 2011, remaining an unused substitute as they defeatedRubin Kazan 3–1 in the first leg of theChampions Leagueplay-off round.[9] He made his professional debut for the club on 8 January 2012, playing the whole match in a 3–1 victory over local rivalsLyon-Duchère in theCoupe de France.[10] Six days later, he made hisLigue 1 debut in a 1–0 away defeat toMontpellier, playing the entire game.[11] Umtiti made a total of 18 appearances across all competitions inhis debut season.
In the 2012–13 season, he became a more regular member of the Lyon first team. On 12 January 2013, againstTroyes in a 2–1 away win, he scored his first career goal.[12] He finished the season with 32 appearances in all competitions and two goals.[13]
On 30 June 2016, Umtiti signed forLa Liga sideBarcelona for a fee of €25 million.[14][15] On 17 August, Umtiti made his first appearance for Barcelona in the second leg of the2016 Supercopa de España which Barcelona won 3–0 versusSevilla and lifted the trophy.[16] Umtiti picked up a knee injury in September 2016 while in Barcelona training, causing him to miss a crucialLa Liga clash againstAtlético Madrid.[17][18] He scored his first goal for the club, on 4 March 2017, againstCelta de Vigo with Barcelona winning 5–0 at the Camp Nou.[19] He would later play a vital role in the2016–17 Champions League round of 16 second leg fixture againstParis Saint-Germain, as he started the match alongsideGerard Piqué andJavier Mascherano in a 3-man central defence partnership. Umtiti assisted his teammates in recovering from a 4–0 first leg deficit to a historic 6–1 victory, the biggest comeback in the history of the Champions League.[20] He would cap off his first year in Spain by winning the2016–17 Copa del Rey and by establishing himself firmly as first-choice in central defence for the club alongside Piqué.[3]
Now established as first-choice in defence at the club, after Barcelona's subpar2017 Supercopa de España while reeling off the loss ofNeymar, Umtiti began the season with great performances, under the guidance of new managerErnesto Valverde.[21] On 2 December, Umtiti injured his right hamstring and was ruled out for eight weeks.[22] Umtiti scored the winning goal againstValencia CF at Camp Nou, on 14 April, in a 2–1 victory for the Catalans.[23] A week later, on 21 April, Umtiti started for Barcelona in the2018 Copa del Rey Final, holding a clean sheet in an eventual 5–0 victory over Sevilla at theMetropolitano Stadium.[24] Additionally, Umtiti won his first La Liga winners' medal during his second season in Spain, with the defender appearing in 40 games and scoring one goal across all competitions.[25]
On 3 June 2018, Umtiti signed a new five-year contract with Barcelona. The release clause was subsequently set at €500 million.[26] Umtiti was named as a substitute for the2018 Supercopa de España behind Piqué and a new summer signingClément Lenglet. Despite not featuring and with Barcelona winning the match 2–1 against Sevilla, Umtiti claimed his fifth winners' medal since joining the club.[3][27]
In 2018, Umtiti picked up a knee injury which could have been treated with surgery, but he instead opted for conservative treatment, and proceeded to play in the 2018 World Cup, which he won with France. However, this choice resulted in the defender spending much of the following season with Barcelona injured.[28][29]
In August 2020, while recovering from a knee injury, Umtiti tested positive forCOVID-19.[30] However, fitness difficulties plagued him year after year, and he was reduced to a supporting role for Barcelona.[31]
On 25 August 2022, Barcelona announced that they had reached an agreement with newly-promotedSerie A sideLecce on the loan of Umtiti until 30 June 2023, with no purchase option.[32][33] He then made his debut with the club on 9 October, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1league loss againstRoma.[34]
On 4 January 2023, the defender wasracially abused, together with his team-mateLameck Banda, by a group of away supporters during a home league game againstLazio.[35][36][37][38] The Lazio fans involved kept targeting the two players with racist chants throughout most parts of the match,[35][36] withreferee Livio Martinelli being forced to interrupt the game for a few minutes during the second half.[35][37][38] The game eventually ended in a 2–1 win for Lecce.[36][37] Umtiti, who burst into tears after the final whistle and was praised for his performance on the pitch,[35][36] was defended by Lecce supporters, who had attempted to drown out the abuse with counter-chants of praise for the Frenchman throughout the second half;[35][37][38][39] the club's president himself, Saverio Sticchi Damiani, also stood for both the abused players in the post-match.[35][38][39] Lazio apologised for the behaviour of their supporters by issuing an official statement on social media,[40] whileFIFA presidentGianni Infantino showed support to Umtiti and Banda through a message on hisInstagram profile.[37][38] Umtiti made 24 starts and played a key role in defence all season, as Lecce were able to secure Serie A safety on 28 May with a 1–0 win overMonza.[41]
On 21 July 2023, Umtiti signed forLigue 1 clubLille on a contract until 2025.[43]
On 15 September 2025, Umtiti announced his retirement from professional football after suffering from chronic cartilage damage in his knee during the latter years of his career.[44]
Umtiti was aFrance youth international, having represented the country fromunder-17 tounder-21 levels. He was an integral member of the team that won France's first everU-20 World Cup in 2013. Although, he had to sit out the final againstUruguay due to a red card received in the semi-final againstGhana.[45]
Umtiti, who was at the time uncapped at senior level, was selected by the France national team managerDidier Deschamps to be part of the France'ssquad for theEuropean Championship in2016, following an injury to the compatriotJérémy Mathieu.[47] Umtiti made his senior debut on 3 July by playing every minute of thequarter-final againstIceland at theStade de France, replacing the suspendedAdil Rami. Thus, he became the first outfield player sinceGabriel De Michèle (at the1966 World Cup) to win his first cap for France by appearing in the finals of a major tournament and was accurate with all 77 of his passes during the match, which France won 5–2.[48] He later earned extremely positive reviews for his performance in the semi-final against the incumbent world championsGermany.[49] This led to a lot of excitement over Umtiti's prospects for his newly signed club, Barcelona, and his future as a player.[50]
On 13 June 2017, Umtiti scored his first goal for France, equalising againstEngland in an eventual 3–2 victory forLes Bleus in a friendly match in Paris.[51]
On 17 May 2018, he was called up to the 23-manFrance squad for the2018 World Cup in Russia.[52] In the semi-final againstBelgium on 10 July, he scored the only goal of the game, heading in a corner.[6] On 15 July, Umtiti was named as a starter, as France beatCroatia 4–2 in thefinal.[53]
Umtiti was a powerful and rangy left-footedcentral defender, who was predominantly known for his physical strength, anticipation, pace, ability in the air, and tackling, as well as his distribution, technique, and ability on the ball, which enabled him to carry the ball out from the defence, or start attacking plays from the back with his passing.[54][55][56][57][58][59] In 2018,ESPN FC journalist Sam Marsden praised Umtiti's reading of the game, timing and risk-taking, adding that he could lead Barcelona's defence for the next five to ten years.[60]
In the 2017–18 season, Umtiti had suffered several knee and muscle injuries when playing for Barcelona.[61] When the World Cup came, he had been advised by many doctors to take surgery to prevent injuries getting worse and worse, however Umtiti decided to play through the pain instead.[62] Despite winning the World Cup, Umtiti struggled with many injuries which deeply affected the rest of his career as a result, and he was known to be very injury prone from then on.
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