Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti has revealed he turned down lucrative offers from English Premier League clubs to move to the Camp Nou.
The 23-year-old amassed 170 appearances for Olympique Lyonnais over the course of five seasons before joining the Catalan club last summer in a deal worth €25m, a move which he described as a ‘dream’ and where he rejected bigger wage packets from England.
"It was always a dream for me to play here [at Barca],” Umtiti told Canal+.
“I must be the happiest man in the world. There was another club other than Barca, there were English clubs too. I could have earned a lot more money, but I wasn't interested. For me, it was Barcelona and not another team."
The French international then was questioned about returning to France for the last 16 of the Champions League, where Luis Enrique’s side will meet an old foe for the defender.
"I'll be happy to go back to France, Paris have a great team – I've often lost there, I hope to change that this time," Umtiti continued.
"Going forward, they have impressive players: Edinson Cavani, Lucas Moura, Julian Draxler – they're very good."
