World champion with Messi, retired at 31, now “plays” in new role | OneFootball

Samuel Umtiti will return to a World Cup, although this time without his boots. Eight months after announcing his retirement from professional football at the age of 31 due to chronic knee injuries, the 2018 world champion with France confirmed that he is joining the team of pundits at RMC for coverage of the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

The French broadcaster confirmed that Umtiti will be part of what it has called a “Dream Team” of experts accompanying its tournament coverage. The group includes three other world champions: Emmanuel Petit, Christophe Dugarry, and Lionel Charbonnier; Ballon d’Or winner Jean-Pierre Papin; Champions League winner Éric Di Meco; and seven-time Ligue 1 champion Jean-Michel Larqué. Figures such as Benoît Costil, Souleymane Diawara, and Younès Belhanda will also take part.

Umtiti’s move to the microphone — he is already working at RMC — came after a career cut short by his body. The defender made the decision that would shape the rest of his sporting life before the 2018 World Cup in Russia began: with a knee injury already diagnosed, he chose not to undergo surgery so he could play in the tournament. “I pushed my knee to the limit at the World Cup and I don’t regret it. Now I’m a world champion,” he said in an interview with Canal+ France in 2019. Winning the title was real, but the physical cost was high: between 2018 and 2025, he suffered 18 injuries that caused him to miss 170 matches for club and country.

Developed at Olympique Lyonnais from 2009, Umtiti joined FC Barcelona in 2016 for €25 million. With the Catalan club, he won two La Liga titles and three Copa del Rey trophies, while establishing himself as one of Europe’s most solid center-backs. His performances at Barça opened the door to the senior Les Bleus squad, for which he earned 31 caps and scored 4 goals, and where he was a key figure on the road to the World Cup title in Russia — including the goal that knocked out Belgium in the semifinals.

After leaving Barcelona in 2022, he tried to relaunch his career at Italy’s Lecce, where he played 25 matches in the 2022–23 season, his best tally since the World Cup. The return to France came in 2023 with Lille, but injuries once again took over: he was only able to play 13 matches, the last on June 21, 2024, in the Coupe de France. In 2024, he underwent two surgeries and did not play again.

On September 15, 2025, Umtiti posted a video on his Instagram account announcing his retirement. “Today, I am proud of the path I have taken, at peace with my career. I gave everything while staying true to my values, and I hope that is the image people keep of me,” he wrote. Days earlier, cameras had captured him at Lyon’s facilities — his formative club — to record that same video. The club opened its doors to him.

Beyond the microphone, Umtiti has other plans. In October 2025, during a tribute by the French Football Federation (FFF) at the Parc des Princes on the occasion of the national team’s victory over Azerbaijan in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, the former defender hinted at his next goal: “Coaching is something I think about a lot. I want to have responsibilities, but I need training. Being a player doesn’t make you a good coach,” he told TF1. He added: “I hope to be on the bench in a few years.”

For now, he has opened the door to Umtiti the analyst, who will take part in the World Cup in a different role.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.