Samuel Umtiti began his professional career with Lyon in 2012, winning the Coupe de France and Trophée des Champions that year. He totalled 170 games and three goals before a €25 million transfer to Barcelona in 2016.
After winning 47 caps and scoring three goals at youth level, including winning the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Umtiti made his senior debut for France at UEFA Euro 2016, where his nation reached the final, and also later took part at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Umtiti was a France youth international, having represented his nation from under-17 to under-21 levels. He was an integral member of the team that won France’s first ever FIFA U-20 World Cup. He played in almost every game but missed the final against Uruguay due to a red card received in the semi-final against Ghana.
Umtiti defending against Argentina’s Lionel Messi, his FC Barcelona teammate, at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Umtiti was born and spent his first two years in the Cameroonian city of Yaoundé. The Fédération Camerounaise de Football and former international Roger Milla met his advisors in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to represent their team.
Umtiti, who was uncapped at senior level, was selected by France national team manager Didier Deschamps to be part of his Euro 2016 squad following an injury to fellow centre-back Jérémy Mathieu. Umtiti made his senior debut on 3 July by playing every minute of the quarter-final against Iceland at the Stade de France, replacing the suspended Adil Rami.
He became the first outfield player since Gabriel De Michèle at the 1966 FIFA 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.
He later earned extremely positive reviews for his performance in the Euro semifinal against incumbent World Cup champion Germany. This led to a lot of excitement over Umtiti’s prospects for his newly signed club, Barcelona, and his future as a player.
On 13 June 2017, Umtiti scored his first goal for France, equalizing against England in an eventual 3–2 victory for Les Bleus in a friendly match in Paris.
On 17 May 2018, he was called up to the 23-man French squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. In the semi-final against Belgium on 10 July, he scored the only goal of the game, heading in a corner.
In 2018, ESPN FC journalist Sam Marsden was effusive in praising Umtiti, opining that, “As well as reading the game as if it was a children’s book, timing his challenges to the millisecond and putting his body on the line in the name of a block, [Umtiti] is a daring defender. […] He takes risks, feeding the ball between the lines, and rarely picks the wrong option”, going on to say, “Of the six summer signings Robert Fernandez made in 2016, Umtiti has proved the sporting director’s Mona Lisa […] Barca should make sure they follow through on their threat to up their security on a player who has the potential to not just keep improving, but who could lead their defence for the next five to 10 years”
His club career saw him included in a Lyon squad for the first time on 16 August 2011, remaining an unused substitute as they defeated Rubin Kazan 3–1 in the Champions League play-off round first leg. He made his professional debut on 8 January 2012, playing the entire match in a 3–1 victory over local rivals Lyon-Duchère in a Coupe de France game. Six days later, he made his Ligue 1 debut in a 1–0 away defeat against Montpellier, playing the full game. He made a total of 18 appearances in all competitions in his first season.
In the 2012–13 season, he became a more regular member of the Lyon first team. On 12 January 2013, against Troyes in a 2–1 away win, he scored his first career goal. He finished the season with 32 appearances in all competitions and two goals.
At the end of the 2015–16 season he was named as the “Best Player of the Season” by Lyon fans, ahead of Alexandre Lacazette.
On 30 June 2016, Umtiti signed for La Liga side Barcelona for a fee of €25 million. On 17 August, Umtiti made his first appearance for Barcelona in the second leg of the 2016 Supercopa de España which Barcelona won 3–0 versus Sevilla and lifted the trophy. Umtiti picked up a knee injury in September 2016 while in Barcelona training, causing him to miss a crucial La Liga clash against Atlético Madrid. He scored his first goal for the club on 4 March 2017 against Celta de Vigo which Barcelona won 5–0. He would later play a vital role in the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League in the second leg of the Round of 16 against Paris Saint-Germain, as he started the match alongside Gerard Piqué and Javier 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 UEFA Champions League. He would cap off his first year in Spain by winning the 2016–17 Copa del Rey and by establishing himself firmly as first-choice in central defence for the club alongside Gerard Piqué.
Now established as first-choice in defence at the club, after Barcelona’s subpar 2017 Supercopa de España while reeling off the loss of Neymar, Umtiti started the season in great form and helped Barcelona maintain an undefeated start to the season in La Liga and the Champions League. As of 20 November 2017, Umtiti, assisted by the guidance of manager Ernesto Valverde, along with the good form of goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, was responsible for Barcelona having the least goals conceded of any club in Europe’s top-five leagues, with just four conceded. On 2 December 2017, Umtiti injured his right hamstring and was ruled out for 8 weeks.
On 21 April, Umtiti featured for Barcelona in the 2018 Copa del Rey Final, holding a clean sheet in an eventual 5–0 victory over Sevilla at Wanda Metropolitano