Arsenal and Man United once chased £50m star – now he’s shockingly retired at 31

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Injuries have robbed both Manchester United and Arsenal of some potential club legends over the years.

The likes of Abou Diaby and Jack Wilshere could have been pillars of the future in north London, but both midfielders unfortunately could not stay out of the treatment room. In regard to Manchester United, a stalwart in Phil Jones had to retire at the age of 32 due to injury.

However, Samuel Umtiti – once tracked by Arsenal and Manchester United – has now been forced to hang up his boots even earlier.

Samuel Umtiti retires after serious knee problems

The Daily Mail revealed back in September 2019 that the Frenchman was a target for Manchester United, before the Mirror claimed in April 2020 that Arsenal were also interested.

Umtiti was shining at Barcelona around this period of time following a £21m move from Lyon in July 2016, but a string of serious injuries suffered in Catalonia have now led the centre-back to call time on his career, two months before his 32nd birthday.

In the nicest way possible, it shows that Arsenal and Manchester United were actually fortunate to have failed in their attempts to sign the man born in Yaounde, as it would have been an expensive mistake.

Umtiti – who Newcastle looked at too – had a £50m release clause written into his contract with Barcelona, who terminated his deal in June 2023 three years ahead of schedule as a result of his injuries and consequential absence.

Lille handed the 2018 World Cup winner a chance to rebuild his career, signing the defender to a two-year contract in July 2023.

However, after Umtiti managed to make just 13 appearances in those two seasons, he has failed to find a new club since that contract ended in June 2025, now resulting in his decision to retire.

Samuel Umtiti risked it all for the 2018 World Cup

Umtiti – who Unai Emery has praised – effectively gambled his career on the 2018 World Cup.

Doctors advised the defender to undergo surgery during that summer as his knee issues worsened. However, the Lyon academy graduate, determined to appear for France at the famous competition, ignored the advice.

Umtiti got what he travelled to Russia for. He returned to Barcelona as a World Cup winner, memorably scoring the only goal in the semi-final victory over Belgium and securing the Man of the Match award too.

However, he left Russia that summer with chronic cartilage damage to go with his World Cup medal, suffering too significant a setback to ever properly recover from, which has now led to a very early retirement.