Barcelona ready to terminate defender’s contract as patience wears thin – report

Despite senior stars agreeing to take substantial pay cuts, despite not having Lionel Messi on the payroll, Barcelona remain in dire straits financially and need to cut more players from the squad in order to get some semblance of control on their bloated wage bill.

To that end, the Blaugrana are now prioritising offloading several players before the transfer window closes in a couple of weeks’ time. However, they are having to face several challenges in their attempts to do so.

Miralem Pjanic continues to be linked with a return to Juventus, and there is hope that a deal will be agreed upon. However, Samuel Umtiti is proving to be a head-scratcher for Barca, as reported by SPORT.

The Frenchman, who has fallen way down the pecking order at the club, had been previously offered a chance to terminate the contract, which he refused mutually. He was later informed that if he fails to impress manager Ronald Koeman before the start of the season, the 27-year-old needs to leave the club.

Umtiti was given an opportunity by the Dutch tactician in the first two pre-season friendlies but failed to make the most of those opportunities, and the writing was on the wall. However, the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner continues to refuse to leave Camp Nou, despite having offers on the table.

Barcelona, on the other hand, remain determined to offload him as they push to trim their wages further. And, the player’s stance on the matter has meant that patience is starting to wear thin within the club hierarchy.

As per the report, Barca have informed Umtiti to select one of the offers that have arrived for him before the end of the week. If he fails to do so, the Catalans are now prepared to unilaterally terminate his contract, even if it might leave them open for legal action from the defender.

Barcelona have already gone down this route with Matheus Fernandes this summer. The Brazilian midfielder had his contract terminated by the club, post which he signed for Palmeiras and launched legal proceedings against the Catalans. It could well be that they are forced to take similar actions with Umtiti too.