Barcelona’s Samuel Umtiti has revealed he received several offers, when asked about previous rumours linking him to Manchester United.
The defender arrived at the Camp Nou from Lyon in 2016 and established himself as one of the key players in his first two seasons. Prior to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Barca tied the 27-year-old down to a bumper contract.
Umtiti, however, has struggled with multiple injuries over the past few years, which has restricted him to 49 appearances across all competitions since the start of the 2018/19 season.
On Tuesday, Mundo Deportivo have published an interview with the player. During the course of the chat, they asked him if there were any offers and used past rumours involving Manchester United and Lyon as examples.
Responding to this, the World Cup winner said: “Yes, from various clubs.”
Although the Frenchman admits he received proposals, he doesn’t make it clear whether there was one from the Red Devils. His desire has been to continue at the Catalan club.
“Yes [to succeed at Barcelona], right. Everybody knows that I love this club. No, I didn’t see myself anywhere else,” he explained.
“Good question [why he hasn’t played this season]. I don’t know, there are many of us in my position, you have to fight to play. You can understand the competition, I like it. I will have to work more than my teammate. I don’t care, I like it.”
When asked if he will look for a way out of Barcelona in January if his situation doesn’t improve, Umtiti said: “It is clear to me, the most important thing now is to play here because it is my club, I love this club.
“I want to succeed here, play, win with my teammates, with the team. I see myself here, I’m waiting for that moment to play. I have to continue training, working and showing that I have a place.”
