Samuel Umtiti has shared his nightmare experience with current La Liga champions Barcelona after ending his spell at the Camp Nou.
The France international showed flashes of brilliance in his first two seasons when he arrived from Ligue 1 side Lyon.
06:37 - 26.05.2023
Messi says emotional farewell to Barcelona’s Jordi Alba
Lionel Messi has penned an emotional goodbye to Jordi Alba with the defender set to leave Barcelona this summer
Umtiti’s career in brief
Umtiti had won four winners' medals in 2018 which earned him a new five-year deal before tragedy struck when he had a serious knee injury that required surgery.
The 2018 World Cup winner did not get back to the form that earned him a new contract then he was subsequently loaned out to newly promoted Serie A side Lecce.
Umtiti speaks about career changing experience
Recounting his difficult experience at Barcelona Umtiti as quoted by Football Espana:
“It felt like four years of being imprisoned at Barcelona, not just on a sporting level, but in my everyday life too.
“I was really in a bad way, I preferred to stay out of everyone’s way. At the start, I felt good and performed at a high level, but then I started to feel some diffidence towards me and realised then that nobody believed in me anymore.
“It was a challenge for me, I needed to feel appreciated, respected and just useful.”