 Barcola withLyon in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bradley Jean-Manuel Essolisam Barcola | ||
| Date of birth | (2002-09-02)2 September 2002 (age 22) | ||
| Place of birth | Villeurbanne, France | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward,winger[1] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Paris Saint-Germain | ||
| Number | 29 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2010 | AS Buers Villeurbanne | ||
| 2010–2021 | Lyon | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2023 | Lyon II | 22 | (5) |
| 2021–2023 | Lyon | 40 | (5) |
| 2023– | Paris Saint-Germain | 51 | (17) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022 | France U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | France U21 | 12 | (4) |
| 2024 | France Olympic | 1 | (0) |
| 2024– | France | 13 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 01:09, 17 March 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:44, 23 March 2025 (UTC) | |||
Bradley Jean-Manuel Essolisam Barcola (born 2 September 2002) is a French professionalfootballer who plays as aforward orwinger forLigue 1 clubParis Saint-Germain and theFrance national team. Regarded as one of the best young wingers in the world, Barcola is known for his speed, work-rate, dribbling, and finishing.[2][3]
After coming up throughLyon's academy, Barcola began his professional career with his boyhood club, where he would play two seasons, the latter of which he broke out into the starting squad, leading the club inassists. In 2023, he signed for Paris Saint-Germain for a €45 million transfer fee, going on to win a domestic treble in his first season at the club.
Barcola played youth international football for France atunder-21 andOlympic levels. He made his senior international debut in June 2024, and was a member of the France squad forUEFA Euro 2024.
Bradley Jean-Manuel Essolisam Barcola[4] was born on 2 September 2002 inVilleurbanne, a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon,[5] to a French mother and Togolese father.[6][7][8][9][10] He started playing football in his home town, before joiningLyon at the age of eight.[7][8]
During the2020–21 season Barcola started playing with theLyon reserve inNational 2 while also being a prolific goalscorer with the under-19 who played in theUEFA Youth League,[7] before signing a junior contract in January 2021.[6]
After being called up to the Lyon first team byPeter Bosz during the2021–22 pre-season—scoring his first goal againstBourg-en-Bresse[11]— Barcola signed his first professional contract in September 2021, tying him to the club until 2024.[8][12][13]
Barcola made his professional debut for Lyon on 4 November 2021, replacingRayan Cherki at the 81st minute of a 3–0 home win againstSparta Prague in the group stage of theUEFA Europa League.[14] He managed to provide an assist forKarl Toko Ekambi on Lyon's third goal, helping his side to a win that would make them the first team to officially qualify for this editionround of 16.[15]
In January 2023, due to lack of game time with Lyon, Barcola was keen on joining Swiss teamFC St. Gallen on loan. However, the deal collapsed as Lyon were short of attackers after the injury ofAlexandre Lacazette and the departure ofKarl Toko Ekambi, which resulted in the integration of Barcola intoLes Gones rotation. Having more playing time during the second half of the2022–23 season, Barcola contributed to Lyon's front line alongside top scorerAlexandre Lacazette.[16][17] On 2 April 2023, he scored the only goal to help Lyon defeat the league leaderParis Saint-Germain atParc des Princes. A month later, on 7 May 2023, he assisted three goals for Lyon and Lacazette for a comeback win againstMontpellier in a nine-goal thriller, canceling out four goals scored by strikerElye Wahi.[18] Barcola ended the season with 7 goals and 9 assists across all competitions, being the second most decisive player of the club behind Lacazette.[17]
On 31 August 2023, Barcola joined fellow Ligue 1 clubParis Saint-Germain (PSG) for a reported €45 million fee,[19] signing a five-year contract with the club.[19][20] He was assigned the number 29 jersey.[20] On 3 September, Barcola made his debut as a substitute in a 4–1 away win over his former club Lyon. He became the 500th player to make an appearance for Paris Saint-Germain.[21] On 24 September, Barcola made his first start for PSG in a 4–0 win overLe Classique rivalsMarseille.[22] On 29 October, he recorded his first goal contribution for the club, an assist forWarren Zaïre-Emery's opening goal in a 3–2 away win overBrest.[23] On 9 December, Barcola scored his first goal for PSG in a 2–1 win overNantes.[24]
On 14 February 2024, Barcola scored his firstUEFA Champions League goal in a 2–0 victory overReal Sociedad in the first leg of the round of 16.[25] On 16 April 2024, after his performance in a 4–1 away victory overBarcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals second leg, Barcola was highly praised in the media.[26] He gave an assist toOusmane Dembélé for the equalizing goal in the match, and was key throughout as Paris overturned a 3–2 deficit from the first leg.[2] Barcola finished the2023–24 season with five goals and eight assists in thirty-nine appearances for PSG. On 10 June 2024, he was named by Ligue 1 as the signing of the season.[3]
On 16 August 2024, Barcola scored his first goal of the season in PSG's Ligue 1 opener away toLe Havre, an eventual 4–1 victory for the Parisians.[27] On 23 August, he scored the first brace of his career in a 6–0 win overMontpellier at theParc des Princes.[28] On 22 January 2025, Barcola scored a goal and provided an assist in a 4–2 victory over Manchester City.[29]
Barcola was first selected withFrance under-18 in January 2020 to play twofriendly matches. However, he did not appear as most junior encounters were cancelled due toCOVID-19 during the following seasons.[6][8][13][30]
On 16 May 2024, Barcola received his first call-up to theFrance national team forUEFA Euro 2024.[31] On 5 June 2024, he debuted as a substitute forMarcus Thuram at the 81st minute of a 3–0friendly victory againstLuxembourg atStade Saint-Symphorien inMetz.[32] Barcola recorded his first goal contribution for France by assistingKylian Mbappé's goal, the third of the match.[33] In the meantime, his club, Paris Saint-Germain, denied him permission to compete in the2024 Summer Olympics on home soil, along with his teammate Warren Zaïre-Emery.[34] On 25 June 2024, Barcola made his first start for France on the occasion of his Euro 2024 debut, an eventual 1–1 draw withPoland in the third group stage match.[35] He made two additional appearances as a substitute in the competition: 15 minutes againstPortugal in the quarter-finals, and 30 minutes againstSpain in the semi-finals, which ended in a 2–1 defeat. Despite his limited playing time, Barcola was praised for making a "strong impression" during the tournament.[36]
On 6 September 2024, at the Parc des Princes, during aUEFA Nations League match againstItaly, he scored his first international goal just 12 seconds into the game, setting the record for the fastest goal scored by France in the past 90 years,[37] as well as the fastest goal conceded by Italy.[38]
Barcola is a versatile forward, able to play on both sides of a front three or as acentre forward. Regarded as one of the most promising young players in world football, Barcola is a quick, talented and technically gifted winger, with gooddribbling skills, vision, and explosive speed and acceleration. Although he is naturally right-footed, his preferred position is on the left, which allows him to beat opponents in one on one situations, cut into the centre onto his right foot, and either shoot on goal, create chances for teammates, or make attacking runs into the area.[28]
Barcola has mentioned drawing inspiration from players likeCristiano Ronaldo andPierre-Emerick Aubameyang; in 2020, he stated that he believes his playing style is similar to theirs.[7][39]
Barcola holds French and Togolese nationalities.[40] His brotherMalcolm is also a footballer, and plays for theTogo national team.[12]
| Club | Season | League | French Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lyon II | 2020–21 | National 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | 4 | 2 | |||
| 2021–22 | National 2 | 14 | 3 | — | — | — | 14 | 3 | ||||
| 2022–23 | National 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 22 | 5 | — | — | — | 22 | 5 | |||||
| Lyon | 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | |
| 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 26 | 5 | 5 | 2 | — | — | 31 | 7 | |||
| 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 40 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 47 | 7 | |||
| Paris Saint-Germain | 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 10[b] | 1 | 1[c] | 0 | 39 | 5 |
| 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 26 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 12[b] | 3 | 1[c] | 0 | 43 | 18 | |
| Total | 51 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 82 | 22 | ||
| Career total | 113 | 28 | 12 | 4 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 151 | 35 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2024 | 11 | 2 |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 13 | 2 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 September 2024 | Parc des Princes, Paris, France | 6 |  Italy | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A | [43] |
| 2 | 10 October 2024 | Bozsik Aréna, Budapest, Hungary | 8 |  Israel | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A | [44] |
Paris Saint-Germain
Individual
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