Bradley Barcola
French footballer (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bradley Jean-Manuel Essolisam Addo Barcola (French: [bʁɑdlɛ bɑʁkɔlɑ];[2][3] born 2 September 2002) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Liverpool and the France national team. He is known for his speed, agility and dribbling.[4][5]
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Barcola with France in 2026 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Bradley Jean-Manuel Essolisam Addo Barcola | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 2 September 2002 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Villeurbanne, France | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Liverpool | ||||||||||||||||
| 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) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2026 | Paris Saint-Germain | 88 | (29) | ||||||||||||||
| 2026– | Liverpool | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | France U20 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | France U21 | 12 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | France Olympic | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | France | 29 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:09, 20 September 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21:47, 25 September 2026 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
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. In 2023, he signed for Paris Saint-Germain for a €67 million transfer fee, where he went on to win the UEFA Champions League as part of a continental treble in 2025. He won a second consecutive Champions League title with the club in 2026, before signing for Liverpool in the summer of the same year.
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 and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Early life
Club career
Lyon
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,[8] before signing a junior contract in January 2021.[7]
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.[9][10][12]
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.[13] 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.[14]
In January 2023, due to lack of game time with Lyon, Barcola was keen on joining Swiss team 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.[15][16] On 2 April 2023, he scored the only goal to help Lyon defeat the league leader Paris Saint-Germain at the 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.[17] Barcola ended the season with 7 goals and 9 assists across all competitions, being the second most decisive player of the club behind Lacazette.[16]
Paris Saint-Germain
On 31 August 2023, Barcola joined fellow Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for a reported €45 million fee,[18] signing a five-year contract with the club.[18][19] He was assigned the number 29 jersey.[19] 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.[20] On 24 September, Barcola made his first start for PSG in a 4–0 win over Le Classique rivals Marseille.[21] 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.[22] On 9 December, Barcola scored his first goal for PSG in a 2–1 win over Nantes.[23]
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.[24] 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.[25] 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.[26] 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.[27]
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.[28] On 23 August, he scored the first brace of his career in a 6–0 win over Montpellier at the Parc des Princes.[29] On 22 January 2025, Barcola scored a goal and provided an assist in a 4–2 victory over Manchester City.[30] In a 4–1 win over Rennes on 8 March 2025, he recorded a goal and an assist, bringing his Ligue 1 tally to 20 goal contributions in a single season for the first time in his career.[31] Barcola helped PSG win a 13th Ligue 1 title and finished the season as the league's second-highest assist provider, with 10 assists, just one behind Rayan Cherki.[32][33] In the Coupe de France final on 24 May 2025, he scored two goals and provided an assist in a 3–0 victory over Reims.[34] One week later in the Champions League final against Inter Milan, he assisted Senny Mayulu's goal, the fifth of a 5–0 victory, winning the competition for the first time in PSG's history and in his career.[35] Barcola made his 100th official appearance for PSG in a 4–0 win over Inter Miami in the round of 16 of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup; this was also his 61st appearance for PSG in the 2024–25 season, surpassing Valère Germain's record for most matches in a single season with a Ligue 1 club.[36] In the following season, he won his second Champions League title with the club, following a penalty-shootout victory over Arsenal in the final.[37]
Liverpool
On 31 August 2026, Barcola moved to the Premier League, signing a five-year contract with Liverpool for a reported fee of £106 million (€125 million), with a further £17 million (€20 million) in potential add-ons.[38][39] He was assigned the No. 29 shirt, retaining the number he had worn at Paris Saint-Germain.[38] On 4 September 2026, Barcola made his debut for Liverpool as a substitute in a 2-0 Premier League win against Ipswich Town at Portman Road.[40]
International career
Youth
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.[7][9][12][41] His club at the time, Paris Saint-Germain, denied him permission to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics on home soil, along with his teammate Warren Zaïre-Emery.[42]
Senior
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On 16 May 2024, Barcola received his first call-up to the France national team for UEFA Euro 2024.[43] 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.[44] Barcola recorded his first goal contribution for France by assisting Kylian Mbappé's goal, the third of the match.[45] 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.[46] 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.[47]
On 6 September 2024, at the Parc des Princes, during a UEFA Nations League match against Italy, Barcola 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,[48] as well as the fastest goal conceded by Italy.[49] He scored his second international goal against Israel later in the next month in the same competition.
On 14 May 2026, Barcola was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[50] On 16 June 2026, he scored his first World Cup goal in France's opening victory against Senegal.[51] In the round of 32 on 30 June, he scored France's second goal in a 3–0 win over Sweden.[52] On 18 July, Barcola scored a goal against England in the third place playoff game, which England won by a score of 6–4.[53]
Style of play
Barcola is a versatile forward who can play on either side of a front three or as a centre forward. Although naturally right-footed, he prefers playing on the left, enabling him to take on opponents one-on-one, cut inside onto his stronger foot, and either shoot, create chances for teammates, or make attacking runs into the box.[29]
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.[8][54]
Personal life
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 20 September 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lyon II | 2020–21[57] | National 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 2 | ||||
| 2021–22[57] | National 2 | 14 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 3 | |||||
| 2022–23[57] | National 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 22 | 5 | — | — | — | — | 22 | 5 | ||||||
| Lyon | 2021–22[58] | Ligue 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23[58] | Ligue 1 | 26 | 5 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | 31 | 7 | ||||
| 2023–24[58] | Ligue 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 40 | 5 | 5 | 2 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 47 | 7 | ||||
| Paris Saint-Germain | 2023–24[58] | Ligue 1 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | 10[d] | 1 | 1[e] | 0 | 39 | 5 | |
| 2024–25[58] | Ligue 1 | 34 | 14 | 6 | 4 | — | 17[d] | 3 | 7[f] | 0 | 64 | 21 | ||
| 2025–26[58] | Ligue 1 | 29 | 11 | 1 | 0 | — | 16[d] | 2 | 3[g] | 0 | 49 | 13 | ||
| 2026–27[58] | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 88 | 29 | 10 | 4 | — | 43 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 152 | 39 | |||
| Liverpool | 2026–27[59] | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |
| Career total | 153 | 39 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 226 | 51 | ||
- Includes Coupe de France, FA Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance in Trophée des Champions
- One appearance in Trophée des Champions, six appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
- One appearance in UEFA Super Cup, one appearance in FIFA Intercontinental Cup, one appearance in Trophée des Champions
International
- As of match played 25 September 2026[60]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2024 | 11 | 2 |
| 2025 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2026 | 11 | 3 | |
| Total | 29 | 6 | |
- As of match played 25 September 2026
- France score listed first, score column indicates score after each Barcola goal[60]
| 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 | [61] |
| 2 | 10 October 2024 | Bozsik Aréna, Budapest, Hungary | 8 |  Israel | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A | [62] |
| 3 | 9 September 2025 | Parc des Princes, Paris, France | 16 |  Iceland | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | [63] |
| 4 | 16 June 2026 | MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, United States | 21 |  Senegal | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup | [64] |
| 5 | 30 June 2026 | MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, United States | 24 |  Sweden | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup | [65] |
| 6 | 18 July 2026 | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, United States | 28 |  England | 2–4 | 4–6 | 2026 FIFA World Cup | [66] |
Honours
Paris Saint-Germain
- Ligue 1: 2023–24,[67] 2024–25,[33] 2025–26[68]
- Coupe de France: 2023–24,[69] 2024–25[70]
- Trophée des Champions: 2023,[71] 2024,[72] 2025[73]
- UEFA Champions League: 2024–25,[74] 2025–26[75]
- UEFA Super Cup: 2025,[76] 2026[77]
- FIFA Intercontinental Cup: 2025[78]
- FIFA Club World Cup runner-up: 2025[79]
France
- UEFA Nations League third place: 2024–25[80]
Individual
- UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: September 2024[81]
- UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2024–25[82]
