Samuel Umtiti

[Trickykid]

I clearly don't see what you see in Pique. He has the longevity and accolades, but talent wise, it's not even a comparison. Thiago Silva is clearly the most gifted centre back when you take all things into account (especially defensively). And him and Umtiti are just as good (if not better) at the one thing Pique does well which is ballplaying ability. Outside of Barca the guy isn't even that highly rated so I don't know why this is coming off as a shock.

Nonsense.
Piqué has rightfully been acclaimed as one of the best defenders in the world by most non Madrid based pundits for ages. He's had his ups and down over the years, but trying to downplay his quality or importance in a system like Barça's is just ignorant.

 

[Cruyff-Total Football]

Thiago Silva is clearly the most gifted centre back when you take all things into account (especially defensively).

This is the only statement I will agree. When you compare defenders who play for offensive and non physical team, Thiago Silva, Lahm and Pique are the best defenders in the last years. How much non Barca fans estimate him is not a valid argument. (Eg Busquets)
Pique has very good tactical awareness. Excellent passer of the ball. Proactive defender (unlike Ramos). Has the ability to break lines by carrying the ball forward. The build up towards the second goal in the el clasico is an example, how affective his tactical awareness in nullifying opponent's tactics.

It's remarkable how quickly Umtiti adapted. He too is proactive. He is also good passer. But you cannot compare his passing with that of Pique which Xavi and Iniesta used to rely on. Umtiti's leaner physic enable him to be better in tackles but in most of the instances, Pique would stop the attack so there is no need for him to tackle much. His excellent positioning is unquestionable. Remember that, in certain matches he was a one man defense with a midfielder as RB and a defensive midfielder as another CB. It's no question how much bad Mascherano's positioning is. Umtiti can't even perform at high level along Varane (they two are the best young defenders in the world at the moment). As I said before, we will still remain the best defensive team in the world, as long as we play with Pique, Vermaelen and Rakitic.

And Beckenbauer has said that Pique resembles him. So, he indeed is highly ranked by one of the greatest defenders in the history of football

 

[Tekkers]

This is the only statement I will agree. When you compare defenders who play for offensive and non physical team, Thiago Silva, Lahm and Pique are the best defenders in the last years. How much non Barca fans estimate him is not a valid argument. (Eg Busquets)
Pique has very good tactical awareness. Excellent passer of the ball. Proactive defender (unlike Ramos). Has the ability to break lines by carrying the ball forward. The build up towards the second goal in the el clasico is an example, how affective his tactical awareness in nullifying opponent's tactics.

It's remarkable how quickly Umtiti adapted. He too is proactive. He is also good passer. But you cannot compare his passing with that of Pique which Xavi and Iniesta used to rely on. Umtiti's leaner physic enable him to be better in tackles but in most of the instances, Pique would stop the attack so there is no need for him to tackle much. His excellent positioning is unquestionable. Remember that, in certain matches he was a one man defense with a midfielder as RB and a defensive midfielder as another CB. It's no question how much bad Mascherano's positioning is. Umtiti can't even perform at high level along Varane (they two are the best young defenders in the world at the moment). As I said before, we will still remain the best defensive team in the world, as long as we play with Pique, Vermaelen and Rakitic.

And Beckenbauer has said that Pique resembles him. So, he indeed is highly ranked by one of the greatest defenders in the history of football

You raised some good points, but again you're emphasizing how well a ball-playing defender he is. Compared to guys a lot smaller than him (Silva, Umtiti, Ramos, etc.) he's not near enough as aerially dominant as he should be, he's not the tackler that a Silva, Kompany (at his peak) or a Chiellini are, and besides Ramos he's arguably the most error prone defender out there when it comes to the highly regarded centre backs. It was a constant fixture during his tenure at Barca for Mascherano to clean up Pique's mistakes, and Umtiti is carrying on this trend today.

He's definitely one of the most notable defenders of this generation (largely due in part to how good he is with the ball at his feet), but talking strictly on the defensive side of the game I just don't see what he does better than Umtiti.

 

[Cruyff-Total Football]

It was a constant fixture during his tenure at Barca for Mascherano to clean up Pique's mistakes.

You might be correct. But the quoted statement is actually the reverse.

 

[raki]

Umtiti is world class and already proven in barcelona. Why gamble this situation?

 

[jamrock]

Fuck this mofo if he really wants that much money.

 

[vlad]

Fuck this mofo if he really wants that much money.

Thing is, griezmann who is not needed will get high salary, while umtiti who is important for barca cant, he can leave and barca will not have a good time in CL with so many attacking superstars

Progress is done by offloading high earning underperformers. Iniesta, Busquets, Ter Stegen, Pique and Roberto are good examples for players focused on Football rather than money. I think even in the instance of Messi if not for his Father (who is responsible for tax issues), he wouldn't have demanded insane amounts.

Sure thing, messi is greedy as any superstar in todays football, you cant blame his father, messi is not kid anymore

 

[Ritchie]

Thing is, griezmann who is not needed will get high salary, while umtiti who is important for barca cant, he can leave and barca will not have a good time in CL with so many attacking superstars

Griezmann will be Cesc all over again.

Sure thing, messi is greedy as any superstar in todays football, you cant blame his father, messi is not kid anymore

Messi is the best player of all time probably, he deserves to be the highest paid player in the worl

 

[jamrock]

Our wage bill is already too high as it is, we pay our placers better than any other club in the world, which is why our wage bill is the highest in the world.

Not even Messi would be getting what he is getting but his situation is different as you can't allow the best player in the world to leave your club

But on a large scale the club needs to implement a strick wage structure & stop over paying players for the privilege of playing for Barca.

It's like when we signed neymar and even dembele, there starting wage is too way, we don't have anymore to go but lala land when it came/come time for them to renew.

 

[BBZ8800]

Our wage bill is already too high as it is, we pay our placers better than any other club in the world, which is why our wage bill is the highest in the world.

Not even Messi would be getting what he is getting but his situation is different as you can't allow the best player in the world to leave your club

But on a large scale the club needs to implement a strick wage structure & stop over paying players for the privilege of playing for Barca.

It's like when we signed neymar and even dembele, there starting wage is too way, we don't have anymore to go but lala land when it came/come time for them to renew.

If you don't want to pay too high wages, some players, like Umtiti will leave.

There will be loyal guys who will pay for less than what they would get in oil clubs.
But there will be tons of guys like Neymar an Umtiti who will leave, especially foreign guys.

 

[GOAT_SUAREZ]

It's correct to criticize Messi. It's not a question of whether he deserves it or not. It is a question of worsening the club. I don't know why they received the 100 M bonus too. It could've been utilized to sign a proven young defender or midfielder which in turn will only benefit the career of Messi. You would not expect such from a player who came through the ranks of academy, no matter how important he is for the club.

I agree with that. Definitely disappointed in Messi to demand such a huge amount.

Our wage bill is already too high as it is, we pay our placers better than any other club in the world, which is why our wage bill is the highest in the world.

Not even Messi would be getting what he is getting but his situation is different as you can't allow the best player in the world to leave your club

But on a large scale the club needs to implement a strick wage structure & stop over paying players for the privilege of playing for Barca.

It's like when we signed neymar and even dembele, there starting wage is too way, we don't have anymore to go but lala land when it came/come time for them to renew.

Completely agree. Our wage structure is out of control.

If you don't want to pay too high wages, some players, like Umtiti will leave.

There will be loyal guys who will pay for less than what they would get in oil clubs.
But there will be tons of guys like Neymar an Umtiti who will leave, especially foreign guys.

There is no reason that we should have to pay much higher salaries than Real Madrid. None.

 

[ASordidGod]

If you don't want to pay too high wages, some players, like Umtiti will leave.

There will be loyal guys who will pay for less than what they would get in oil clubs.
But there will be tons of guys like Neymar an Umtiti who will leave, especially foreign guys.

Well in fairness to Umtiti, he hasn't left for the money yet, and at this stage we have no idea if he will. All he's done so far is refuse to commit himself publically. Which whilst annoying to us as fans, hurtful, even, to the extent we feel betrayed, at the very least let down, when you look at it objectively I don't see anything terrible in what he did. I mean, if he comes out and says, nope, not interested in Utd, it's Barca for me or nothing, he's basically guaranteeing himself a bad deal on his next contract. He's protecting his interests is all. Distasteful? A little. Understandable? Completely. That's my opinion anyway.

 

[raskolnikov]

I dont think Umtiti wants to go, he is just using the united situation to get a raise, rooney style.
I guess in the future players will be bleeding clubs dry even more. Now defenders are picking up as well in wanting attacker type salary.
Problem when you have the goat in Messi is that you pay him everything, then others want a raise as well. You can argue about hirarchy for example but a guy like Umtiti nows he is Pique tier so why not pay him more?
I hope we keep umtiti, he is young, was cheap and one of the best defenders in the world. It would be more expensive to replace him.

There is no reason that we should have to pay much higher salaries than Real Madrid. None.

For some reason, the real payers are happy in taking a lower wage to just being there. Maybe its to their marketing as biggest club ever otherwise I dont know why Isco/Marcelo type players would accept peanuts when they can get much more elsewhere.

 

[JamDav1982]

There is no reason that we should have to pay much higher salaries than Real Madrid. None.

Barca dont pay much higher wages than them.

For some reason, the real payers are happy in taking a lower wage to just being there. Maybe its to their marketing as biggest club ever otherwise I dont know why Isco/Marcelo type players would accept peanuts when they can get much more elsewhere.

Marcelo and Isco are not on peanuts though.

 

[GOAT_SUAREZ]

Barca dont pay much higher wages than them.

what are the numbers?

588 million for Barcelona.
https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/77s5e6/barcelonas_wage_bill_will_reach_588m_this_season/