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AIPROPX ReportBBC Sport · 2h ago
Barcola - the 'grasshopper' who has overcome setbacks
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 agreeing 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."
Born Bradley Jean-Manuel Essolisam Addo Barcola on 2 September 2002, he has five siblings - including one other footballer, his older brother Malcolm, 27, a goalkeeper for Ittihad Tanger in Morocco and the Togo national team.
It was their mother who encouraged them to take up football - she would attend their matches and film the brothers playing.
"It's rare but she's the one who gave us passion [for the sport]," Barcola, who looked up to Cristiano Ronaldo and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, said in an interview with Uefa in 2024.
His father, Yves, had a passion for sport and a strong work ethic, and would gather them in the family living room to watch clips of their matches back together.
Malcolm has spoken about growing up with his younger brother.
"Every weekend, we went to the local stadium," he told newspaper Le Progres. , external "My father made Bradley do specific work in front of goal, and me, as a goalkeeper... he made me work too. We complemented each other well."
Long before Barcola, graduates from Lyon's academy included Karim Benzema, who has won multiple Champions Leagues with Real Madrid and the Ballon d'Or, Arsenal FA Cup winner Alexandre Lacazette, and France 2018 World Cup winners Samuel Umtiti and Corentin Tolisso.
More recent graduates include Manchester City forward Rayan Cherki and Chelsea full-back Malo Gusto.
Aged 17, Barcola scored 11 goals in 17 league matches for Lyon's Under-19 team before signing his first professional contract two years later in 2021.
It was a huge moment for the Barcola family.
During his rise to fame and fortune, Barcola has spoken about the importance of his family in keeping him grounded.
When the player was roundly criticised for missing chances against Newcastle in the Champions League in his first season at PSG, he turned to his family for support.
"My parents and I talk about everything," Barcola said in an interview with French newspaper Le Parisien. "As soon as something goes wrong, on or off the pitch, we talk about it. I've got my older brother, too.
"When things aren't going so well, I need to see them and get their advice.
"When they tell me 'you're messing up', it's because they're right. And when they tell me I've played well, it's because I have. I don't listen to what's said outside."
Asked about his son's reaction to the criticism following the Newcastle match, Yves Barcola said: "We talked to him about it, it's the kind of thing that doesn't affect him. That's what he tells us, it pushes him to do more.
"He's never been given anything in his young career, he's always had to earn things with his patience and qualities."
Paris St-Germain boss Luis Enrique has described Barcola as a "balanced person, very sensible, humble, hard-working, with great family values".
"After Newcastle at the Parc, he was very criticised, unfairly, and that did not reflect reality," added Luis Enrique. "He was able to calmly manage the difficult moments post- Newcastle in the best possible way."
What strengths might Barcola bring to Anfield?
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