There was a moment, not so long ago, when Bradley Barcola’s career appeared to have stalled.
Having earned rave reviews after nailing down a regular starting place in Lyon’s starting XI under Peter Bosz, the 20-year-old winger was out of favour and in the reserves by the time the Dutch coach was replaced by Laurent Blanc in October 2022.
According to L’Equipe,, external Barcola was close to joining Swiss club St Gallen in January 2023 in order to get more game time before an act of petulance by a team-mate helped pave his return to the side.
Fans were unhappy with the team’s poor form – making first-choice forward Karl Toko Ekambi a target for their frustrations.
The relationship between the Cameroon international and Lyon’s ultras fractured further when he stormed down the tunnel and kicked a rubbish bin in frustration after being substituted during a 2-1 home defeat by Strasbourg.
The incident was caught on camera and Toko Ekambi never played for Lyon again.
That presented Barcola with an opportunity which he seized. He started the majority of the remaining matches that season, scoring five times, including a winner at champions-in-waiting Paris St-Germain in April 2023.
Five months after that goal at the Parc des Princes, Barcola was a PSG player.
His reported £38.5m move – two weeks after Brazil forward Neymar swapped Paris for Saudi Arabia – came with Lyon struggling in the table and also unable to sign replacements because of financial restrictions.
“Barcola’s first game for PSG was back at Lyon,” Pierre-Etienne Minonzio, football journalist for L’Equipe, told BBC Sport.
“He was booed by the Lyon fans because it was just after the transfer. PSG boss Luis Enrique asked Barcola, who was very young at the time, if he was ready to play.
“He said yes, came on as a substitute, and it was impressive.”
Barcola, nicknamed the ‘grasshopper’ because of his speed, agility and slight frame, has since gone on to win three Ligue 1 titles and back-to-back Champions Leagues in his three seasons in the French capital. He broke into the France side two years ago, and scored three times as this summer’s World Cup as they reached the semi-finals.
With Liverpool having now completed a £123m deal to sign him, Barcola is on his way to the Premier League.
It has been quite the journey from kicking a ball about as a schoolboy on the playing fields of Vaulx-en-Velin – situated to the east of Lyon – to becoming a superstar worth nine figures. But the path has not been without challenges.
“Barcola is hugely ambitious,” added Minonzio.
“He is from a generation of young French talent who are prepared to work hard and want to be a better version of themselves.
“They will do whatever they have to do to get there. They don’t ask questions – they just do it.”
