Liverpool win Barcola transfer fee battle with PSG as deal ‘finalised’

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Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

Liverpool have won their transfer tug-of-war with PSG over Bradley Barcola’s transfer fee, with a deal ‘finalised’ on the terms of the Anfield side.

Barcola has agreed a contract with the Reds that will run until 2031, with David Ornstein of The Athletic reporting that the total package of the transfer will be worth €145 million.

Andoni Iraola’s side had initially been faced with a €170m demand from the two-time Champions League winners, but have managed to negotiate the price of the move downwards.

Current ETV

Bradley Barcola

F, AM (L)

PSG

Bradley Barcola

F, AM (L)

PSG

€57.2M

ETV Range

€51.5M - €63M

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Barcola is expected to complete his medical over the weekend, with the full formalisation of his transfer to follow in a matter of hours.

Bradley Barcola: Transfer fee and structure revealed

Liverpool will pay an initial €125m (£106m) for the 23-year-old France international star, with up to €20m (£17m) following in add-ons.

He will become the third most expensive player in Liverpool history, trailing on Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, who joined the club from Bayer Leverkusen and Newcastle respectively last summer on what were Premier League record fees.

Although Barcola can play across the forward line, he offers Liverpool the left winger they have been chasing this summer and potentially opens the door to Cody Gakpo leaving the club, with Manchester City and Tottenham still interested in the Netherlands star.

The sale of Gakpo would help soften the finances involved in signing the Frenchman, who has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €57.2m - although this is arguably a low estimate given his minutes were somewhat limited at PSG as he was not a front line player for Luis Enrique’s side.

Barcola becomes the most expensive export in Ligue 1 history, surpassing the €90m that PSG recouped when they sold Neymar to Al-Hilal in 2023 and also the €80m that took Aurelien Tchouameni from Monaco to Real Madrid a year earlier.

What will Barcola bring to Liverpool?

Barcola’s main asset is his devastating pace, which lends itself to teams playing quickly in transition. He also possesses fearsome acceleration, which allows him to work in more contained areas.

Although frustrating with his final action at times, the Lyon-born forward does pose a goal threat, having scored 11 times in 29 Ligue 1 game last term after bagging 14 in 34 – plus 11 assists – in the previous campaign.

On top of this, he is also a hard-working defender, which is an essential quality in a PSG team that presses intensely off the ball. Iraola will want to cash in on this quality to make Liverpool all the more intimidating to play.

According to data analytics experts SciSports, Barcola was the second-best performing winger in Ligue 1 last season behind Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, while he also posted elite numbers in the Champions League as PSG won the trophy for a second time in succession.

Liverpool will expect this type of impact in Iraola’s side from the 23-year-old, who must not justify the enormous outlay that the Premier League club have made on him.