Bradley Barcola

Lyon

During the 2020–21 season Barcola started playing with the Lyon reserve in National 2 while also being a prolific goalscorer with the under-19 who played in the UEFA Youth League, before signing a junior contract in January 2021. After being called up to the Lyon first team by Peter Bosz during the 2021–22 pre-season—scoring his first goal against Bourg-en-Bresse— Barcola signed his first professional contract in September 2021, tying him to the club until 2024. Barcola made his professional debut for Lyon on 4 November 2021, replacing Rayan Cherki at the 81st minute of a 3–0 home win against Sparta Prague in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. He managed to provide an assist for Karl 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 edition round of 16.

In January 2023, due to lack of game time with Lyon, Barcola was keen on joining Swiss team St. Gallen on loan. However, the deal collapsed as Lyon were short of attackers after the injury of Alexandre Lacazette and the departure of Karl Toko Ekambi, which resulted in the integration of Barcola into Les Gones rotation. Having more playing time during the second half of the 2022–23 season, Barcola contributed to Lyon's front line alongside top scorer Alexandre Lacazette. On 2 April 2023, he scored the only goal to help Lyon defeat the league leader Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes. A month later, on 7 May 2023, he…

Youth

Barcola was first selected with France under-18 in January 2020 to play two friendly matches. However, he did not appear as most junior encounters were cancelled due to COVID-19 during the following seasons. His club at the time, Paris Saint-Germain, denied him permission to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics on home soil, along with his teammate Warren Zaïre-Emery.

Senior

On 16 May 2024, Barcola received his first call-up to the France national team for UEFA Euro 2024. On 5 June 2024, he debuted as a substitute for Marcus Thuram at the 81st minute of a 3–0 friendly victory against Luxembourg at Stade Saint-Symphorien in Metz. Barcola recorded his first goal contribution for France by assisting Kylian Mbappé's goal, the third of the match. On 25 June 2024, Barcola made his first start for France on the occasion of his Euro 2024 debut, an eventual 1–1 draw with Poland in the third group stage match. He made two additional appearances as a substitute in the competition: 15 minutes against Portugal in the quarter-finals, and 30 minutes against Spain 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. On 6 September 2024, at the Parc des Princes, during a UEFA Nations League match against Italy, Barcola 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, as…

Barcola is a versatile forward who can play on either side of a front three or as a centre forward. Although naturally right-footed, he prefers playing on the left, enabling him to take on opponents one-on-one, cut inside onto his stronger foot, and either shoot, create chances for teammates, or make attacking runs into the box. Barcola has mentioned drawing inspiration from players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang; in 2020, he stated that he believes his playing style is similar to theirs.

Bradley Jean-Manuel Essolisam Addo Barcola to a French mother and Togolese father. His brother Malcolm is also a footballer, and plays for the Togo national team. He started playing football in his home town, before joining Lyon at the age of eight.