Liverpool complete £123m Bradley Barcola deal: Reds finally get their man as French star joins from PSG after window-long pursuit
Liverpool have confirmed the £123million signing of Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain.
Barcola, 23, joins on a five-year contract from the reigning two-time European champions.
Liverpool made a breakthrough with PSG last week after several weeks of negotiations to try to bring down the European champions’ stubborn valuation which started at £145m.
‘It’s a great pride to be able to play for Liverpool. I’m very happy,’ Barcola said.
‘It took a long time but I’m really happy today to be able to play for Liverpool and all I want is to be on the pitch and be able to play.
‘I hope to achieve very big things. First of all, winning the Premier League – it’s one of my biggest dreams in my life.
Liverpool have confirmed the signing of Bradley Barcola in a £123m move from PSG
Barcola declared he wants to help Liverpool win the Premier League and ‘didn’t ask questions’ when he heard of their interest
‘It is to do that and to stay in this team in the long term – that’s why I signed a long contract – and I hope I can do it.
‘I had the chance to play twice in this stadium [Anfield] and I saw the atmosphere and how the fans were behind the Liverpool players.
‘When I knew about Liverpool’s interest in me, I didn’t ask questions and I knew it was a very big club for me.’
Barcola has been the top target for several months as Liverpool looked to replace Mohamed Salah after his move to Trabzonspor.
They previously targeted – and had a bid rejected for – Yan Diomande, who ended up at Real Madrid.
Negotiations have been led by sporting director Richard Hughes and Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon.
Barcola came through Lyon’s academy but spent the last three seasons at PSG, where he won two Champions Leagues and three Ligue 1 titles.
The winger, who played for France at this summer’s World Cup and scored against England in the third-place play-off, scored 39 goals in 152 games for PSG.
The deal is a major boost for new Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola, who has seen his tenure begin with successive 2-2 draws against Newcastle and Nottingham Forest.
Barcola joins Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz as major additions to the Liverpool squad this summer, with the pair having signed for £55m and £34.5m respectively.