Samuel Umtiti has agreed a new five-year deal with Barcelona, ending speculation that he could leave Camp Nou this summer.
Umtiti, 24, only joined Barca two years ago but his €60 million release clause left the club worrying that he could be tempted by the money on offer in the Premier League.
After Manchester City and Liverpool spent big on defenders Aymeric Laporte and Virgil van Dijk, respectively, in January, Manchester United were linked with a move for Umtiti.
The France centre-back fuelled the speculation in March when he refused to comment on reports he could sign for United.
However, in recent weeks he has reiterated his desire to remain at Barcelona and on Sunday the Catalan club announced that an agreement had been reached for him to extend his stay.
[BREAKING NEWS]
We are delighted to announce @samumtiti has renewed his contract at @FCBarcelona until 2023!
👍 #Umtiti2023 pic.twitter.com/ev2GKDqZOj— FC Barcelona 🏆🏆 (@FCBarcelona) June 3, 2018
“FC Barcelona and Samuel Umtiti have reached an agreement to extend the player’s contract for a further five seasons through to 2022-23,” a statement said.
“The Frenchman will be putting pen to paper on Monday in the Josep Sunol lounge at Camp Nou. He will then speak to the media in the Ricard Maxenchs pressroom.”
Barca have not yet revealed how much Umtiti’s new release clause will be but a source told ESPN FC it will be “significantly more” than the current €60m.
It’s expected to be around the €500m mark, which would be the same as the buyout clauses included in the new deals signed by Sergi Roberto and Gerard Pique earlier this year.
Umtiti joined Barca for €25m from Lyon in 2016 and he quickly established himself alongside Pique in the middle of the back four.
During his two seasons at the club, he has made 83 appearances in all competitions, helping the club win La Liga once and the Copa del Rey twice.
After signing his contract and speaking to the media on Monday in Barcelona, he will return to France to continue his preparations for the World Cup in Russia this summer.
He was on target in Les Bleus 3-1 win against Italy on Friday, with Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele also on the scoresheet.
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