Umtiti opens up on Barcelona exit: “I needed peace and quiet”

After a slow start to the new season, Samuel Umtiti has finally announced himself as a Lecce player. The defender has recently made his debut for the Italian outfit in the defeat to AS Roma, even emerging as one of the top performers for the minnows.

In light of his performance, Umtiti has offered his thoughts on his debut in a recent presser. He also explained his decision to join the Italian outfit.

“I felt wonderful emotions, I’m proud of the game I played. After so many months in which I worked hard to get back up to par with my teammates,” said Umtiti (h/t MARCA) when asked about his debut.

The Frenchman went on to talk about his objectives during the remainder of the season but played down talks of potential inclusion in the French team for the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

“At this time in my life, it is important to play again, to feel valued and important in this team and to achieve my goal with Lecce. World Cup? With the national team, I have written beautiful pages of my career, but for now I only think at Lecce and do well in this shirt,” he said.

Umtiti explained his decision to join Lecce as well, suggesting that he wanted some peace and quite after his dismal spell at Barça.

“After the Barcelona experience, I needed peace and quiet. Lecce is the best solution because it is also an ideal city to live in; here are the ideal conditions to start again. During the summer there were other contacts, but today I feel that I can confirm this choice”.

Umtiti joined Lecce at the end of August, on a season-long loan deal. The Frenchman had to be offloaded by Barcelona as part of the club’s efforts to make space in the defensive unit.

“I arrived in Lecce with the mentality of facing different challenges every day. In Barcelona, I had a lot, just as I had the opportunity to play with great champions,” he said when asked about his time at Camp Nou.

Unfortunately, some physical problems forced me to start from scratch. It’s not easy come back, but I chose to rewrite my career with Lecce and the first step is to try to save ourselves,” the defender added.

Despite the impressive debut against AS Roma, Umtiti’s job is far from over as Lecce brace themselves for a tricky round of fixtures – starting with Monday’s clash against Fiorentina.