Manchester United were reportedly prepared to meet Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti’s £54m (€60m) minimum release clause in 2018 which sparked Nou Camp officials to panic.
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Umtiti, 27, joined Barcelona in 2016 from Ligue 1 side Lyon in a move which cost the La Liga giants £22.5m, as per Transfermarkt.
After the French defender’s arrival in Spain four-years ago, Umtiti has gone on to feature in 116 matches in all competitions for the Catalonian side.
However, despite bursting onto the scene throughout his younger days, Umtiti has always failed to reach the heights he was once tipped to after a spate of injuries seriously hampered the Frenchman’s development.
Umtiti has already racked up 12 injuries since joining Barcelona with a reoccurring knee injury seemingly the worst of the bunch.
According to the 26-year-old’s medical record from Transfermarkt, Umtiti has missed, through injury, a whopping total of 79 matches across all competitions.
However, one side who will be thankful the Frenchman does not play for them is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United.
According to a recent report from Sport, the Red Devils came exceptionally close to bringing Barcelona’s Umtiti to Old Trafford in 2018.
Sport claim that the Reds’ hierarchy were willing to activate the 26-year-old’s minimum release clause, which at the time, stood at an eye-watering £54m (€60m).
It has been claimed that United’s willingness to lure Umtiti away from the Nou Camp sparked panic among the La Liga club and resulted in officials being ‘unable to sleep’ – Perhaps a slight exaggeration designed to emphasise just how worried Barcelona were that they could lose their once highly-rated defender.
Of course, fans know now that United were unsuccessful in their attempts to land Umtiti and with the likes of the injury stricken Phil Jones already on the Reds’ payroll, the Premier League club will probably be thankful the Barcelona defender stayed put.