Bradley Barcola new signing of Liverpool at AXA Training Centre on August 31, 2026 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Bradley Barcola new signing of Liverpool at AXA Training Centre on August 31, 2026 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Bradley Barcola has fulfilled a dream in joining Liverpool, according to his former Lyon youth coach, who says the winger “always spoke about” the club.
Barcola put Liverpool above any other club as he pushed for his departure from Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
Having turned down a new contract and entered the final two years of his existing deal, the 23-year-old attracted a number of other clubs including Arsenal.
Unexpected token '<', " Try again But his decision to wait for a £123 million move to Anfield was partly motivated by a long-held “dream” of playing for Liverpool. “As a kid, he always spoke to me about Liverpool,” former Lyon U16s coach Amaury Barlet told the Guardian‘s Luke Entwistle. “When he was 15, 16, it was his dream [to play for them]. Maybe that changed when he was 19 or 20.” Liverpool kept tabs on Barcola from his time at Lyon, with Jurgen Klopp having watched him score against his side in a mid-season friendly in Qatar in 2022. He eventually left Lyon for PSG, but struggled to cement a first-choice starting role despite the obvious talents he had developed from his time in Decines-Charpieu. A considerably cheaper deal was considered by Liverpool’s recruitment heads last summer, but at the time the decision was made not to block Rio Ngumoha’s pathway. Now, with Mo Salah departed and a new head coach in the dugout, Barcola is the headline name out wide – and Iraola’s words ahead of the Frenchman’s debut reflect that desire to represent the Reds. Iraola ‘surprised’ by Barcola’s “collective” spirit Bradley Barcola new signing of Liverpool at AXA Training Centre on August 31, 2026 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images) Bradley Barcola new signing of Liverpool at AXA Training Centre on August 31, 2026 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images) “I always had the feeling with Bradley that I didn’t need to convince him to come,” Iraola told the Liverpool Echo‘s Ian Doyle. “I didn’t ever think I would need to convince him but sometimes when you talk to players, you feel that you have to sell your idea and sell the club. “All the questions he was asking were about football, tactics. The position he was going to play. “He was very open, also, about playing on the right, of playing up front, of giving us chances so we can work better as a team. “It wasn’t just about the individual or Bradley saying ‘how am I going to shine?’. It was about the collective. I liked it.” Iraola added: “He is someone who has won the Champions League the last two seasons and been very important [for PSG]. “But he was thinking collectively, not just about his position. It’s nice to hear those things.” Football – FA Premier League – Liverpool FC v Wolverhampton Wanderers FC LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, December 29, 2019: Wolverhampton Wanderers' captain Conor Coady before the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda) Liverpool FC Unveil New Signing Lucca Brughmans Liverpool FC unveil new signing Lucca Brughmans at AXA Training Centre on September 02, 2026 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images) Football – Pre-Season – Liverpool FC v Leeds United FC CHICAGO, USA - Sunday, August 2, 2026: Liverpool's goalkeeper Harvey Davies during the pre-match warm-up before a pre-season friendly match between Liverpool FC and Leeds United at Soldier Field. Leeds won 4-2. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)