Umtiti from World Cup peak to depression bottom

Umtiti was once on top of the world .

Umtiti was on top of the world. The Barcelona centre-back started seven games at the 2018 World Cup, scoring the decisive goal against Belgium in the semi-finals, helping France win the title. But that was also the start of a haunting series that lasted for many years.

Umtiti arrived in Russia with a nagging knee pain. Barca doctors discovered a cartilage problem, but he refused surgery to be in time for the tournament. The price was too high: after the World Cup, his knee was constantly swollen and painful, unable to cope with the workload, despite treatment, PRP injections and surgeries.

His form has declined, his playing time has dropped dramatically. In his last five seasons at Barcelona, ​​he has not started more than 18 games. In 2023, his contract was terminated three years early. Umtiti has been a wanderer at Lecce and then Lille, but has never regained the image of a solid central defender.

In the documentary Diving Heads , Umtiti spoke for the first time about the dark side of that journey. He admitted to falling into “loneliness” and “depression”, living within four walls haunted by criticism. “I trained two or three times a day, didn’t go anywhere, didn’t see my friends. But people thought I was lazy, that I didn’t want to come back,” he said.

The doubts from some fans only made him more exhausted. “They don’t know how hard I try. I just want to play football, money is not what motivates me,” Umtiti said.

At the age of 32, Umtiti retired last September. The French team gave him a solemn farewell before the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. In Diving Heads , Umtiti appears alongside Raphael Varane, Olivier Giroud, Blaise Matuidi and Djibril Sidibe, who also experienced dark corners of their careers.

A chapter in his life has closed. Umtiti once climbed to the top of the world. But it was there that he began his long fall into obscurity.