Barca defender reaches ‘gentlemen’s agreement’

Ian Watson

Samuel Umtiti has reportedly come to an agreement with Barcelona over a new deal, though no deal can be signed imminently due to the club’s Financial Fair Play obligations.

Under the current stipulations the Catalan giants, who recently spent £142m on the signing of Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool, are not allowed to pay out on Umtiti’s new deal this season without breaking the rules put in place by FFP.

The France international defender’s current deal runs until 2021 but the La Liga leaders are concerned that his €60m (£53m) release clause will prompt summer bids from fellow European heavyweights.

Barca are said to looking to raise the clause before any offers for the 24-year-old start to come in, with Manchester United strongly tipped to be leading the chase for the player.

Goal, however, reports that Umtiti and his representatives have come to a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ over a new deal, with the already-negotiated terms due to be signed off on the opening day of the 2018-19 financial season.

That tactic is similar to the one Barca used to keep hold of Neymar, when they were unable to tie the Brazil star down in January 2016, eventually keeping hold of the attacker before he moved to PSG a year later.