Barcelona FC has signed Lyon forward Memphis Depay on a free transfer.
Gatekeepers News reports that Barcelona FC has reached an agreement with Lyon to sign forward Memphis Depay on a free transfer.
The Catalan club confirmed that the 27-year-old will join them after his contract with Lyon expires at the end of this month (June).
According to the statement, he will be with the club until the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
Last summer, Barca at the request of coach Ronald Koeman tried signing Depay, who played in the Netherlands’ 3-2 Euro 2020 win over Ukraine on Sunday.
However, personal terms were concluded with the player, and a fee of around €25 million was set with Lyon, but the Catalan were unable to accommodate him within their La Liga-imposed wage cap.
The Barcelona coach who worked with Memphis previously while he was the Dutch National Team Coach, wanted the forward on his team in January. However, the club had no president in place to sanction a transfer.
Depay signing makes him the fourth following the arrivals of Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia, and Emerson Royal.
The Spanish club also eyed Depay’s Dutch teammate Georginio Wijnaldum upon the expiry of his contract with Liverpool, but, he instead opted to join Paris Saint-Germain.
Depay left Premier League Manchester United in 2015 to join Lyon. In his four-and-a-half seasons with the French Club, Depay has scored 76 goals out of 178 appearances, including 22 this past season as Lyon finished fourth in Ligue 1.
His arrival at Barcelona will further increase their options in attack. He is to compete with Aguero, Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Ansu Fati, Martin Braithwaite, Philippe Coutinho, and Francisco Trincao for a starting position, pending sales and contract renewals.
