Bradley Barcola, 22-year-old winger for Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team, spoke to Le Parisienin a lengthy interview. He talked about his arrival and the decision to move to Paris. He also talked about his new status as an important “goalscorer”, although he doesn’t want to dwell on that too much.
Barcola “ I was convinced it was the right choice to sign here”.
“On August 31, 2023, when you signed for Paris, if someone had told you: ‘Barcola, Ligue 1 top scorer in fourteen months’, would you have believed them?
Not at all. I was convinced it was the right choice to sign here, but I didn’t know it would lead to all this, and being top scorer in the league isn’t my main objective. I try to score as many goals as I can and make assists. But my objective is to win titles. I want to win everything.
Barcola “ In a club like PSG, you can’t hide, you have to prove yourself right away”.
You’ve found yourself alongside the likes of Dembélé, Marquinhos and Mbappé… Big names, but you’ve never made a secret of it. How do you explain your confidence?
I’d spoken to the coach before coming here and he warned me that it would be different. My former coach at Lyon, Laurent Blanc, had also warned me: in a club like PSG, you can’t hide, you have to prove yourself right away. As soon as I arrived, I tried to show that I could make a contribution. If something I do can help the team, I do it. I don’t ask myself any questions.
Barcola is ambitious and that’s a good thing. PSG was sorely lacking in players with little or no track record. And therefore hungry. Barcola can take PSG to the top, he’s known nothing but titles with the Parisian club and it’s here that he’ll be able to fulfill his career objectives. The only thing to note is that you have to seize your chance when it comes.
PSG are a team that don’t forgive the slightest weakness, so if he wants to win everything with Paris, he’s going to have to be the best version of himself and take things to the next level. He has everything to succeed, but he also has everything to fail.
It’s up to him to find the right balance between his new status, hard work and the need to get better at the little things every day. He’s got the ability, now he just needs to put it all into practice on the pitch over the course of a season.
