Barcelona's World Cup Winning Defender Quits Club for Italian Serie A Side

• Italian side Lecce have completed a deal to sign Samuel Umtiti on a season-long loan from FC Barcelona
• Samuel Umtiti joined Barcelona in 2016 from French giants Olympique Lyonnais for a fee of €25 million
• The Cameroonian-born defender played a vital role to help France to win the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

France international Samuel Umtiti has officially left Barcelona to join Italian club U.S Lecce on loan.

The Camp Nou outfit confirmed in a club statement Umtiti's move will see him play for the Serie A side until the end of the season with no purchase option.

According to Football Espana, Barca will pay the 28-year-old's salary but will receive bonuses depending on how many games he plays.

Umtiti decided to leave after falling down the pecking order under Xavi Hernandez.

Brahim Diaz’s salary, contract, net worth, age, stats, latest news

Football

Barcelona have centre-backs in abundance with new signings Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen joining Gerard Pique, Ronald Araujo and Eric Garcia at the club.

Going on loan was the best for Umtiti who was always going to find it difficult to earn game-time at Barcelona this season.

The former Lyon central defender has the chance to prove he can still compete in the elite and hopefully secure a permanent transfer in 2023.

Umtiti's contract with Barcelona is running until 2026.

Unwanted Defender Samuel Umtiti Still Owed Millions of Euros by FC Barcelona in Deferred Salary

Meanwhile, the Catalan giants actually owe Samuel Umtiti a whopping €52 million as per the terms of his contract.

Umtiti’s previous contract with Barcelona was due to expire in 2023, but the club were desperate to register Ferran Torres and agreed on a new deal with Umtiti, with the agreement that he would defer some of his wages.

Lionel Messi's net worth, contract, Instagram, salary, house, cars, age, stats, latest news

Football

He then signed until 2026, with the club agreeing to pay him €52 million spread out until 2026.

€40 million of that is believed to be in fixed payments, while the remaining €12 million was due to be paid in variables. If Barcelona were to sell the player now, they would have to pay him out before he leaves.

Panic in Camp Nou as Barcelona are desperate to offload 4 players before the summer transfer window closes

Sports Brief reported earlier that Barcelona are desperate to raise funds to buy two more players this summer and register Jules Kounde for the 2022/23 season.

The Catalans now outlined a few players to be sold to raise enough money for the La Liga club, with at least 3 to 4 players set to make their exits from the Camp Nou before the transfer window closes.

According to Barca Universal, Martin Brathwaite, Samuel Umtiti, Sergino Dest, and Memphis Depay are the likeliest to be sold by Barcelona this summer.