Bradley Barcola could be the most expensive transfer of this summer window but why is he so prized? He has achieved plenty already. But there is more to come.
The 23-year-old France international has just won the Champions League with PSG back-to-back but had to be content with coming off the bench in both finals. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's arrival from Napoli in January of 2025 established him as first choice on the left. But just because Barcola is not a guaranteed starter in Paris does not mean that he is not a guaranteed star.
This is a player with pace, physicality and intelligence, someone whose skills have been honed under Luis Enrique. With Barcola, the potential is as vast as the fee. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player For a player so highly rated, Barcola's rise has been serendipitous.
At Lyon, he was on the fringes of the first team under France legend Laurent Blanc until a player exit changed everything. "That was a turning point," Jean-Francois Vulliez told Sky Sports. "A club in Switzerland was interested because he was not playing for the first team.
At that time, Blanc was the coach and we had Karl Toko Ekambi. But he decided he wanted to leave so the coach decided to stop the loan because we might need Bradley. Vulliez explained: "It was a key moment because he realised that if Toko Ekambi left, Bradley could be a solution and there was an opportunity to use him.
One match later, there was an injury and Laurent needed him." Having worked with Barcola as a boy in Lyon's academy, Vulliez knows him well. In fact, he actually followed Barcola to PSG and now works as a development coach for the French and European champions. In his job, he has seen plenty of standout youngsters.
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