Liverpool have agreed to pay £123m for the right to sign Bradley Barcola, with the 23-year-old set to earn massive wages with the Reds.
Talks between PSG and Liverpool took nearly two months, but the Reds have finally got their man.
There was always a sense that the Merseysiders would wind up signing the winger, but until it was official, there also existed a distinct chance that talks could fall apart or another club could swoop in and steal him away amid reports that Arsenal wanted to hijack the deal.
That said, David Lych reported on Substack today that Liverpool were always in the driving seat. He said: “From the outside, it always seemed strange that, despite their clear need for an elite attacker and potential for a vacancy on the left-hand side, Arsenal never moved for Bradley Barcola this summer.
“But the reality is that the Gunners knew they would be wasting their time even trying, because it is understood that the Frenchman only ever wanted Liverpool and had made that quite clear to all his other suitors.”
Bradley Barcola is a Red.
Allez Les Rouges. pic.twitter.com/Z8eQY71dgQ
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 31, 2026
The massive increase in earnings Barcola will receive after becoming the second most expensive Premier League player of all time
After Liverpool spent £125m to sign Alexander Isak, it was expected that the Reds would rein their spending in a bit, but after a £123m deal was agreed with PSG for the transfer of Barcola, that logic has proven false.
All summer, it was reported that agreeing personal terms with Barcola would prove unproblematic, and now, after a report from 20min avec Sportune, it’s clear why.
After earning around £109,000 a week at the Parc des Princes, Barcola has received a 130% increase on his salary and will now receive £250,000 weekly for a total of £13m per year pre-tax. Overall, his five-year contract is worth £65m.
With the £123m transfer fee factored in, the overall value of his transfer will reach £188m if he stays at Anfield for the duration of his contract.
The money involved more than proves Liverpool’s faith in his abilities, with Barcola expected to provide the star quality on the flanks that Mohamed Salah took with him when he completed a free transfer to Turkish side Trabzonspor.