Bradley Barcola

Bradley Barcola
Barcola with Lyon in 2023
Personal information
Full name Bradley Laurent Barcola[1]
Date of birth (2002-09-02) 2 September 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth Villeurbanne, France
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward, winger[2]
Team information
Current team
 Paris Saint-Germain
Number 29
Youth career
2008–2010 AS Buers Villeurbanne
2010–2021 Lyon
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2023 Lyon II 22 (5)
2021–2023 Lyon 40 (5)
2023– Paris Saint-Germain 35 (12)
International career‡
2022 France U20 1 (0)
2023–2024 France U21 12 (4)
2024 France Olympic 1 (0)
2024– France 9 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:00, 2 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:50, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Bradley Laurent Barcola (born 2 September 2002) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team. Widely considered one of the best young wingers in the world, he is known for his speed, work-rate, dribbling, and finishing.[3][4]

After coming up through Lyon's academy, Barcola began his professional career with his boyhood club, where he would play two seasons, the latter of which he broke out into the starting squad, leading the club in assists. This breakout led to a €45 million move to Paris Saint-Germain in August 2023, where he won a domestic treble. After Mbappe left PSG for Real Madrid, Barcola became PSG’s biggest offensive threat, scoring 7 goals and assisting once within his first 8 Ligue 1 matches in 2024-2025.

Barcola played youth international football for France at under-21 and Olympic levels. He made his senior international debut in June 2024, and was a member of the France squad for UEFA Euro 2024.

Early life

[edit]

Barcola was born on 2 September 2002 in Villeurbanne, a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon,[5] to a French mother and Togolese father.[6][7][8][9][10] He started playing football in his home town, before joining Lyon at the age of eight.[7][8]

Club career

[edit]

Lyon

[edit]

During the 2020–21 season Barcola started playing with the Lyon reserve in National 2 while also being a prolific goalscorer with the under-19 who played in the UEFA Youth League,[7] before signing a junior contract in January 2021.[6]

After being called up to the Lyon first team by Peter Bosz during the 2021–22 pre-season—scoring his first goal against Bourg-en-Bresse[11]— Barcola signed his first professional contract in September 2021, tying him to the club until 2024.[8][12][13]

Barcola made his professional debut for Lyon on 4 November 2021, replacing Rayan Cherki at the 81st minute of a 3–0 home win against Sparta Prague in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League.[14] He managed to provide an assist for Karl Toko Ekambi on Lyon's third goal, helping his side to a win that would make them the first team to officially qualify for this edition round of 16.[15]

In January 2023, due to lack of game time with Lyon, Barcola was keen on joining Swiss team FC St. Gallen on loan. However, the deal collapsed as Lyon were short of attackers after the injury of Alexandre Lacazette and the departure of Karl Toko Ekambi, which resulted in the integration of Barcola into Les Gones rotation. Having more playing time during the second half of the 2022–23 season, Barcola contributed to Lyon's front line alongside top scorer Alexandre Lacazette.[16][17] On 2 April 2023, he scored the only goal to help Lyon defeat the league leader Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes. A month later, on 7 May 2023, he assisted three goals for Lyon and Lacazette for a comeback win against Montpellier in a nine-goal thriller, canceling out four goals scored by striker Elye Wahi.[18] Barcola terminated the season with 7 goals and 9 assists across all competitions, being the second most decisive player of the club behind Lacazette.[17]

Paris Saint-Germain

[edit]

On 31 August 2023, Barcola joined fellow Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for a reported €45 million fee,[19] signing a five-year contract with the club.[19][20] He was assigned the number 29 jersey.[20] On 3 September, Barcola made his debut as a substitute in a 4–1 away win over his former club Lyon. He became the 500th player to make an appearance for Paris Saint-Germain.[21] On 24 September, Barcola made his first start for PSG in a 4–0 win over Le Classique rivals Marseille.[22] On 29 October, he recorded his first goal contribution for the club, an assist for Warren Zaïre-Emery's opening goal in a 3–2 away win over Brest.[23] On 9 December, Barcola scored his first goal for PSG in a 2–1 win over Nantes.[24]

On 14 February 2024, Barcola scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 2–0 victory over Real Sociedad in the first leg of the round of 16.[25] On 16 April 2024, after his performance in a 4–1 away victory over Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals second leg, Barcola was highly praised in the media.[26] He gave an assist to Ousmane Dembélé for the equalizing goal in the match, and was key throughout as Paris overturned a 3–2 deficit from the first leg.[3] Barcola finished the 2023–24 season with five goals and eight assists in thirty-nine appearances for PSG. On 10 June 2024, he was named by Ligue 1 as the signing of the season.[4]

On 16 August 2024, Barcola scored his first goal of the season in PSG's Ligue 1 opener away to Le Havre, an eventual 4–1 victory for the Parisians.[27] On 23 August, he scored the first brace of his career in a 6–0 win over Montpellier at the Parc des Princes.[28]

International career

[edit]

Barcola was first selected with France under-18 in January 2020 to play two friendly matches. However, he did not appear as most junior encounters were cancelled due to COVID-19 during the following seasons.[6][8][13][29]

On 16 May 2024, Barcola received his first call-up to the France national team for UEFA Euro 2024.[30] On 5 June 2024, he debuted as a substitute for Marcus Thuram at the 81st minute of a 3–0 friendly victory against Luxembourg at Stade Saint-Symphorien in Metz.[31] Barcola recorded his first goal contribution for France by assisting Kylian Mbappé's goal, the third of the match.[32] In the meantime, his club, Paris Saint-Germain, denied him permission to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics on home soil, along with his teammate Warren Zaïre-Emery.[33] On 25 June 2024, Barcola made his first start for France on the occasion of his Euro 2024 debut, an eventual 1–1 draw with Poland in the third group stage match.[34] He made two additional appearances as a substitute in the competition: 15 minutes against Portugal in the quarter-finals, and 30 minutes against Spain in the semi-finals, which ended in a 2–1 defeat. Despite his limited playing time, Barcola was praised for making a "strong impression" during the tournament.[35]

On 6 September 2024, at the Parc des Princes, during a UEFA Nations League match against Italy, he scored his first international goal just 12 seconds into the game, setting the record for the fastest goal scored by France in the past 90 years,[36] as well as the fastest goal conceded by Italy.[37]

Style of play

[edit]

Barcola is a versatile forward, able to play on both sides of a front three or as a centre forward. Regarded as one of the most promising young players in world football, Barcola is a quick, talented and technically gifted winger, with good dribbling skills, vision, and explosive speed and acceleration. Although he is naturally right-footed, his preferred position is on the left, which allows him to beat opponents in one on one situations, cut into the centre onto his right foot, and either shoot on goal, create chances for teammates, or make attacking runs into the area.[28]

Barcola has mentioned drawing inspiration from players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang; in 2020, he stated that he believes his playing style is similar to theirs.[7][38]

Personal life

[edit]

Barcola holds French and Togolese nationalities.[39] His brother Malcolm is also a footballer, and plays for the Togo national team.[12]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
As of match played 6 November 2024[40]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League French Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Lyon B 2020–21 National 2 4 2 — — — 4 2
2021–22 National 2 14 3 — — — 14 3
2022–23 National 2 4 0 — — — 4 0
Total 22 5 — — — 22 5
Lyon 2021–22 Ligue 1 11 0 0 0 2[a] 0 — 13 0
2022–23 Ligue 1 26 5 5 2 — — 31 7
2023–24 Ligue 1 3 0 — — — 3 0
Total 40 5 5 2 2 0 — 47 7
Paris Saint-Germain 2023–24 Ligue 1 25 4 3 0 10[b] 1 1[c] 0 39 5
2024–25 Ligue 1 10 8 0 0 4[b] 0 0 0 14 8
Total 35 12 3 0 14 1 1 0 53 13
Career total 97 22 8 2 16 1 1 0 122 25
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ Appearance in Trophée des Champions

International

[edit]
As of match played 14 October 2024[41]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
France 2024 9 2
Total 9 2
France score listed first, score column indicates score after each Barcola goal.[41]
List of international goals scored by Bradley Barcola
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 6 September 2024 Parc des Princes, Paris, France 6  Italy 1–0 1–3 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A [42]
2 10 October 2024 Bozsik Aréna, Budapest, Hungary 8  Israel 4–1 4–1 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A [43]

Honours

[edit]

Paris Saint-Germain

Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Bradley Laurent Barcola". Soccerway.
  2. ^ a b "Bradley Barcola". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 2 September 2002. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b Rutzler, Peter (1 May 2024). "PSG's Bradley Barcola – 'An evolution like his, at a level like this... I've never seen it'". The New York Times.
  4. ^ a b "PSG's Bradley Barcola named signing of the season in Ligue 1". PSG Post. 10 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Bradley Barcola". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Hattabi, Dahbia (17 January 2020). "Officiel : Bradley Barcola signe un contrat stagiaire à l'OL". Foot Mercato (in French). Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d Hattabi, Dahbia (21 February 2020). "Coupe Gambardella : ces cinq pépites qui font le bonheur de l'Olympique Lyonnais". Foot Mercato (in French). Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d "OL : premier contrat professionnel pour l'attaquant Bradley Barcola". Le Progrès (in French). 13 September 2021. Archived from the original on 14 September 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  9. ^ "Bradley Barcola : le jeune attaquant aussi passe professionnel". Africa Top Sports (in French). 17 January 2020. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Football : le franco-togolais Bradley Barcola signe un contrat pro". We Love Sport (in French). 14 September 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Après OL – Bourg : les jeunes dans tous les bons coups". OL.fr (in French). 12 July 2021. Archived from the original on 14 July 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  12. ^ a b "L'attaquant Bradley Barcola (OL) signe son premier contrat professionnel". L'Équipe (in French). 14 September 2021. Archived from the original on 14 September 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Bradley Barcola signe son 1er contrat professionnel avec l'OL jusqu'en 2024". OL.fr (in French). 13 September 2021. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  14. ^ Ferreira, Sébastien (4 November 2021). "Résultat et résumé OL - Sparta Prague, Ligue Europa, 4e journée Gr. A". L'Équipe (in French). Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  15. ^ Olivès-Berthet, Cyril (4 November 2021). "L'OL qualifié pour les 8es de finale de la Ligue Europa après sa victoire face au Sparta Prague". L'Équipe (in French). Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Saint-Gall avait senti le coup: "Bradley Barcola était chez nous..."". Blick (in French). 4 September 2023.
  17. ^ a b "De la réserve lyonnaise, à un transfert de 45 M€ au PSG, le mois qui a tout changé pour Bradley Barcola". L'Équipe (in French). 9 June 2024.
  18. ^ "L'OL arrache une victoire complètement folle face à Montpellier (5-4)". L'Équipe (in French). 7 May 2023.
  19. ^ a b "PSG confirm €45m signing of French wonderkid Bradley Barcola from Lyon". Goal.com. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  20. ^ a b "France U21 international Bradley Barcola joins Paris!". Paris Saint-Germain. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  21. ^ "Barcola becomes 500th Paris Saint-Germain player". EN.PSG.FR. 3 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  22. ^ "Barcola (PSG) après la victoire contre l'OM : " C'était incroyable "". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  23. ^ "At the end of the suspense, Paris defeats Brest!". EN.PSG.FR. 29 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  24. ^ "PSG-Nantes : magnifique premier but de Bradley Barcola sous le maillot de Paris". Le Parisien (in French). 9 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  25. ^ "Bradley Barcola Scores First Champions League Goal With Superb Solo Strike As PSG Beat Real Sociedad". Sports Illustrated. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  26. ^ "PSG Youngster 'Tortured' Barcelona Defense in Second Leg Pundit Says". PSG Talk. 22 April 2024.
  27. ^ "PSG convincingly thrash Le Havre". The Express Tribune. 17 August 2024. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  28. ^ a b "Ligue 1 : En pleine confiance, Bradley Barcola a tout pour devenir l'un des leaders de l'attaque du PSG". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  29. ^ "Sélection : première convocation pour Bradley Barcola". Olympique Lyonnais (in French). 13 January 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  30. ^ "Euro 2024 : Deschamps convoque Bradley Barcola, Ferland Mendy et N'Golo Kanté dans la liste de l'équipe de France". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  31. ^ Sherlock, Harry (5 June 2024). "France player ratings vs Luxembourg: Kylian Mbappe misses chance to fill his boots as blunt Bleus labour to pre-Euro 2024 victory over minnows". Goal.
  32. ^ "Mbappé goal, assists help France win Euro 2024 warm-up". ESPN. 5 June 2024.
  33. ^ "JO : LA PRÉ-LISTE ACTUALISÉE" [Olympic Games: The preliminary list updated] (in French). French Football Federation. 11 June 2024.
  34. ^ "Bradley Barcola frustré pour sa première titularisation avec les Bleus". SOFOOT.com (in French). 25 June 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  35. ^ "Euro 2024 - Bleus : Barcola, du gâchis ?". Orange Actualités (in French). 10 July 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  36. ^ Buxton, Richard (6 September 2024). "Bradley Barcola racks up first senior France goal in memorable fashion⚡️". OneFootball. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  37. ^ "l gol lampo della Francia all'Italia, dopo 14' secondi. Erroraccio di Di Lorenzo: cosa è successo" (in Italian). MSN. 6 September 2024.
  38. ^ Youcef, Rafik (31 July 2018). "Turfu [9/20] - Bradley Barcola (Olympique Lyonnais) : " Je kiffe regarder les vidéos de Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang "". Onze Mondial (in French). Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  39. ^ "Bradley BARCOLA -".
  40. ^ "B. Barcola: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  41. ^ a b "Bradley Barcola". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  42. ^ "Bradley Barcola racks up first senior France goal in memorable fashion⚡️". OneFootball. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  43. ^ "England shocked as France win big; Italy and Belgium play out thriller". OneFootball. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  44. ^ "Paris Saint-Germain win their 12th Ligue 1 title!". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 28 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  45. ^ "Le Paris SG remplit sa Coupe" (in French). Fédération Française de Football. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  46. ^ "Paris start 2024 with Trophée des Champions triumph!". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  47. ^ "Bradley Barcola, joueur du mois de septembre de la Ligue 1 McDonald's !" [Bradley Barcola, McDonald's Ligue 1 Player of the Month for September!] (in French). National Union of Professional Footballers. 15 October 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
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