Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti tests positive
Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti tested positive for coronavirus on Friday but he was not with the rest of the squad for the side’s Champions League quarterfinal against Bayern Munich at Lisbon.
The Cameroon-born French defender is currently injured, asymptomatic and self-isolating.
“After the PCR tests carried out on Thursday the first team player Samuel Umtiti has tested positive for COVID-19. The player is asymptomatic, in good health and isolating at home,” read a statement from the Blaugrana.
The club also recently tested other players including Pedri, Trincao, Matheus Fernandes, Jean-Clair Todibo, Moussa Wague, Carles Alena, Rafinha, Juan Miranda and Oriol Busquets. Umtiti happens to be only the second player from the club to test positive after Todibo.
Barca has informed the relevant sporting and health authorities. It is also tracing all the people who have had contact with Umtiti so that they can undergo the corresponding PCR tests.
Umtiti has made a total of 114 appearances in all competitions for Barcelona since moving from Lyon in the summer of 2016. The Spanish club’s out-of-squad players returned to pre-season training on Wednesday.
UEFA Champions League Live : Bayern Munich thumps Barcelona to make it to semis
Meanwhile German champion Bayern Munich utterly humiliated Barcelona with a stunning 8-2 victory on Friday that sent the club through into the semifinals of the Champions League in an extraordinarily emphatic manner.
Thomas Mueller scored twice for a rampant Bayern, which led 4-1 after 31 astonishing minutes, as Lionel Messi and his teammates were condemned to a thrashing that felt like the end of an era for the illustrious Catalan club.
Both teams have been crowned European champions five times. But, while Bayern looks to have a real chance of added a sixth title next week, Barca is clearly facing major reconstruction work and it remains to be seen how many of those involved in this debacle will survive at the club.
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