Bradley Barcola announced himself on the biggest stage with a goal against Real Sociedad for Paris Saint-Germain last night, and he showed why AC Milan tried for him in the summer.
Calciomercato.com recall that Barcola’s goal yesterday was his first in the first Champions League and marks the next step of his young career. It was a goal that allowed PSG to beat Real Sociedad 2-0 (Kylian Mbappé also scored) in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.
It was a display that highlighted all his talent and which showed why Milan had had their eyes on him in view of last summer, given their desire to bolster the attacking department, before Al-Khelaifi invested a significant sum to bring him to the capital.
Barcola is capable of varying across the entire front line, but prefers the role of right winger even if he can play on the left and cut inside. His connection with the world of football began at the age of 6, when he joined the youth sector of AS Buers-Villeurbanne, a club from his country of birth.
His qualities made him noticed by Olympique Lyonnais, who picked him up in 2010 to join their youth sector. He climbed the various youth ranks until the 2021-22 season, when he made his debut in the first team.
After gaining the trust of the club, in the 2022-23 season he played 26 matches in Ligue 1, in which he scored five goals and eight assists. That was enough for PSG, who decided to invest €45m to sign him.
To put it in perspective, that is more than Milan ended up paying for Christian Pulisic and Samuel Chukwueze combined, the two players who signed to revitalise the right flank.
Yeah 2 goals and 4 assists in the league totally worth 45m, Milan regretting so much they should be ashamed of themselves
as with everything, i’m sure there are some fans out there saying we wasted money on Puli and Chuck and should’ve gone with someone like him
Any time acmilan was questioning a player, they suppose to buy it or regret tomorrow. What sense that makes. No other teams was see him.
Anybody that watched that match yesterday saw that he looked incredibly poor besides that one shining moment.