Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi is urging the club to give the Barcelona star a new contract amid interest from Manchester United and Manchester City.
Barcelona’s superb start to the season has been down to the 24 goals from Lionel Messi and Ter Stegen’s form in goal but also the solidity in defense shown by Samuel Umtiti. The Frenchmen has been an absolute rock for the Catalan Giants and is only into his second season at the club. He is destined for a great future and looks like one of the best defenders the Catalan Giants has ever had. His form has attracted interests from all over the world.
The Frenchmen has been a Camp Nou regular since moving from Lyon in the summer of 2016, making 76 appearances for the club. And his release clause of £53 Million has alerted many clubs to look into him. According to some reports, former Real Madrid and current Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is interested in the player. The Portuguese is looking ahead to bolstering of his squad for future competitions.
It is also said that former Barcelona and current Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is also interested in the player. The Spaniard has also admitted that he is targeting a quadruple with Manchester City. Guardiola is losing faith in Vincent Company and hence it will be the right time for them to plot a move for the Frenchmen.
But according to Spanish outlet Don Balon, Barcelona superstar has stepped in to prevent the Frenchmen from leaving the club. The report says that Argentine has been in contact with Barcelona board of directors and has urged them to renew Samuel Umtiti’s contract in order to prevent him from leaving.
Following the new contracts for Gerard Pique and Sergio Roberto this week, the Argentine has seen it as a perfect opportunity to raise the issue. Barcelona has inserted a whopping release clause of £440 Million in Pique’s new contract and Messi thinks that it is the time Barcelona should think about adding such a staggering amount in Umtiti’s contract. It is reported that even Gerard Pique has raised concerns about the Frenchmen’s unrealistic release clause.
https://twitter.com/FutbolOfMessi/status/953531346244263936
But it looks like, Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde is less concerned by this issue and has also claimed that he doesn’t expect Umtiti to leave Barcelona in future.
When quizzed about United’s interest in the player, the Barcelona boss said: “I’m not worried about what clubs might or might not do. Umtiti is a great player and we expect him to stay at Barca for many more years and for him to enjoy his football with us. To an extent, the buyout clause is made high so that you can’t buy the player. As time goes by, that fee doesn’t seem so high at all, but the player still has to want to leave. We’re very happy with Umtiti and I’m sure he’s going to stay here for a very long time.”
Author’s Take-
The Frenchmen has been phenomenal in the past few years. His arrival at the club has put an end to all the defensive criticisms Barcelona has faced since Carles Puyol hanged up his boots. He’s surely the kind of player Barcelona should hold on to.
