During his playing career with Barcelona, Samitier scored 187 official goals and was the club's all-time highest goalscorer at the time of his retirement.

As of 2020, he is the club's fifth all-time top goalscorer behind Luis Suárez, László Kubala, César, and Lionel Messi.

As a player, Samitier pioneered the midfield general role and was nicknamed Surrealista (The Surrealist) and Home Llagosta (The Grasshopper Man)[3] due to his style.

However, Samitier was later accused of acting as a double agent when the club tried to sign Alfredo Di Stéfano, and in the 1960s, he fell out with Helenio Herrera and went to work for Real Madrid.

Despite his role in the Di Stéfano affair,[3] twice defecting to Real Madrid, and his friendship with Francisco Franco,[3] Samitier remained a legendary figure of FC Barcelona.

He was a member of the legendary FC Barcelona team, coached by Jack Greenwell, that, apart from Sagibarba, also included Paulino Alcántara, Ricardo Zamora, Félix Sesúmaga and, later, Franz Platko.

Although his career with the Madrid club was short, he did help them win a title in La Liga 1932–33 and the Copa de España in 1934.

Other Madrid goalscorers include the likes of Eugenio, Hilario, Luis Regueiro and Lazcano, while José Padrón scored one of Espanyol's consolation goals.

Espanyol: Martorell (Eizaguirre 45´); Mas, Pérez, Cifuentes, Solé (Antero 45´), Cristià, Prats, Edelmiro, Iriondo, Padrón and Bosch.

Samitier subsequently worked as the clubs chief scout and was instrumental in the recruitment of another CF Barcelona legend Ladislao Kubala.

In 1920, together with Ricardo Zamora, Félix Sesúmaga, Pichichi and José María Belauste, Samitier was a member of the first ever Spain national team.