CONFIRMED: Barcelona sign Memphis Depay

0

Barcelona have completed and confirmed the signing of Memphis Depay from Olympique Lyon.

https://twitter.com/FCBarcelona/status/1406338122720419843

Depay will arrive to the Camp Nou as a free agent after the ongoing European Championship, with his contract with Lyon set to expire halfway through the tournament. He has signed a deal with Barcelona, set to keep him at his new club for two years.

“FC Barcelona and Memphis Depay have reached an agreement for the player to join the Club once his contract with Olympique Lyonnais is at an end. The player will sign a contract until the end of the 2022/23 season,” the club statement reads.

Depay’s football journey started in his hometown, at VV Moordrecht. From there he made his way to Sparta Rotterdam, and then to PSV Eindhoven. He rose through the youth ranks there and became a first-team player in 2012.

It took him just three years from that point to turn into a proper star. He was linked with many clubs in the summer of 2015, with Manchester United coming out on top to secure his services. However, his future at Old Trafford became doubtful when Jose Mourinho took over from Louis van Gaal, and he was sold to Lyon for around €16 million in 2017.

His performances soon picked up again, and he scored 76 goals and produced 55 assists in 178 appearances in all competitions in the four years that have passed since. He has also accumulated 66 caps as a Netherlands international, scoring 27 times for his country so far.

Signing a player of such quality on a free transfer, at the age of 27, is likely to prove a shrewd piece of business by the Catalans.