31-year-old Umtiti announced his retirement. He won the World Cup in 2018, but he also blocked his career for the World Cup and went downhill due to a knee injury. In the 17/18 season, Umtiti won the double championship as the main player of Barcelona's defense and signed a generous new contract in May 2018. In the second half of the season, Umtiti began to feel knee pain. The Barcelona team doctor diagnosed him with cartilage problems and suggested surgery. In order to participate in the World Cup, Umtiti chose a more conservative treatment.
At the 2018 World Cup, Umtiti's injury was almost undetected. France qualifies as the top spot in the group, Umtiti starts to compete in the first two games, and then takes a rest in the match against Denmark that has nothing to do with the qualifying situation. He then returned in the knockout round, and he continued to play hard and celebrated with a dance after scoring the winning goal against Belgium.
The final against Croatia played 90 minutes in the start of the game, and France won the Hercules Cup - this is why Umtiti took the risk and insisted.
When Umtiti returned to Barcelona with the World Cup championship, he had paid the price. 6 World Cup conservative treatment debuts, resulting in his physical collapse and facing a long-term lack of battle. In December, Umtiti was sent to Doha for platelet-rich plasma treatment. This long-term treatment involves blood drawing, centrifugation, and reinjection of plasma to restart healing.
Umtiti started a downhill road, and his knee problems continued to worsen and he lost his position due to Lenglet's joining. In the summer window of 2021, as Barcelona fell into a financial crisis, Umtiti suffered a toe fracture at the beginning of the 21/22 season and was loaned to Lecce. In the summer window of 2023, Barcelona and Umtiti terminated their contract.
