Barcelona s former player s life is two-polar: Umtiti has no ball to play, Dembele strives for the Golden Ball

The football world has never lacked talented people, nor is it short of super self-disciplined players, etc. These factors are also one of the reasons why professional players can become stars. In addition, injuries and luck are also one of the "protagonists". Recently, Spanish "Marca" and French RMC Sports and other media have disclosed that the 31-year-old French central defender Umtiti has not found a new owner for a long time. According to his own plan, if no team still extends an olive branch before September 10, then he may choose to retire. Now that time has passed, retirement seems to be just an official announcement.

At the same time, his former Barcelona teammate Dembele has reached the peak of his career and has become one of the favorites of the Golden Globes of the year. One is about to hang up his boots in advance, and the other is launching an attack on one of his highest personal awards. The fate of the famous "Glass Brothers" during the Barcelona era is really clear at a glance.

According to French RMC Sports, Umtiti appeared at the training base in Lyon. The outside world once speculated that he was going to join the team, but Umtiti did not go for a physical examination or negotiate, but obtained permission to shoot a personal video, which is very likely the official announcement of retirement. You should know that in the 2018 World Cup, it was this iron-blooded central defender who partnered with Varane to help the French team reach the top. Umtiti was only 24 years old at that time and was regarded as the top central defender for the next 10 years. But in just a few years, the former main World Cup champion now has to bid farewell to the green field at the age of 31. This gap is regrettable.

Injury is Umtiti's lingering nightmare. In 2016, he joined Barcelona from Lyon for a transfer fee of 25 million euros, which should have been the most brilliant starting point of his career. Unfortunately, his stubborn knee disease caused him to be almost swallowed by injuries during his seven years in Barcelona. He was injured for as many as 15 times, and his vicious cycle of returning, falling down and making a comeback eventually dragged down the former star of hope. In 2023, he joined Lille freely and tried to prove himself again. But fate joked again. In just two years, he only made 13 appearances, with a total duration of 710 minutes. In February 2024, it was a serious knee injury, which left him on standby for 15 months, completely ruining his last chance. With the expiration of the contract, Umtiti reached the end of his career.

In sharp contrast with Umtiti is another "glass man" Dembele. In 2017, Barcelona brought him from Dortmund to Camp Nou with a transfer fee of up to 148 million euros. Surprisingly, Dembele became famous in another way: frequent injuries. From 2017 to 2023, he was injured in a total of 15 times, of which at least 4 of them were truce for more than 3 months. Especially between 2019 and 2021, he has been recuperating for almost a whole year and a half. During his years in Barcelona, ​​he and Umtiti were in the injury ward for many years. At that time, many people labeled them as "Glass Brothers" and even doubted whether they could continue their careers on the top stage. The

turning point occurred in the summer of 2023. In order to clear the salary space, Barcelona sent Dembele to Paris Saint-Germain for 50 million euros. Unexpectedly, this decision completely rewritten Dembele's life. In Paris, he gradually regained his peak in Dortmund. Especially after Mbappe left the team, Dembele really took the team's banner. With excellent speed, dribbling and shooting, he is no longer synonymous with injuries, but is the core of Paris' offensive.

In the 2024-25 season, Dembele ushered in a big explosion: he scored 35 goals in 53 games, sent 16 assists, and directly participated in more than 50 goals. He led Paris to sweep Europe, winning the Champions League, Ligue 1, French Cup and French Super League Cup. Such performance made him one of the biggest favorites in the Golden Globes. Who would have thought that the glass man back then has become a popular candidate for the Golden Globe Awards, which is really sad!