Samuel Umtiti confessed in a recent interview for Barça TV that he worked a lot to arrive to FC Barcelona and when he entered the Camp Nou for his official presentation his “eyes lit up and watched everything I could. I was so happy. That day is one of the best memories of my life and I was expecting it from a long time ago.”

The Frenchman is a paused fellow who doesn’t want to lose his north just because he’s a Barça player: “When I arrived, my purpose was to be realistic and assess what I had achieved. I believe we’re just in the beginning of this story. I have to keep working to accomplish all my objectives.”

The young centre-back remarked the role his mother has had during his life and footballing career: “I have achieved what I wanted because of my mother’s support. To her, the first thing was my education and then football. We had to get degrees, that was the condition [for playing]. She made me realize the importance of my studies. If I didn’t do my homework, she wouldn’t let me train. Thus I put effort on my studies so I could go play with my friends and enjoy the game. My mother’s discipline helped me a lot in that sense.”

Umtiti continued to acknowledge her mother’s influence and value: “My mother is the most important person to me. She made a lot of sacrifices for my sake. I’m here because of her and thank her for that everyday. It hasn’t been easy but I try to be here because of her. Every morning in trainings and in the matches I give my best so my mother can be proud of me and happy.”

Samuel admitted it was difficult for her to let him go to the trainings back when he started with Olympique Lyon: “When Lyon came to sign me, my mother didn’t know if she could let me go. It was complicated to go train. Then she got her driver's license to take me to the trainings and to pick me up everyday.”

The Barça defender remembers that “it’s not easy to arrive in Barcelona, among players with such a high level as Messi, Iniesta and everyone else. My philosophy is to work, work, work everyday in order to accomplish my goals. If you play two or three matches that’s all right but anyone is capable of doing so. The most important thing is to endure and being consistent during 10 or 15 matches. That’s what I’m looking for in Barcelona”, said the Frenchman who is a self-confessed music lover, specially “reggaeton and R&B. Neymar and I enjoy the same kind of music and that give us a lot of joy”.