Barcelona confirm Depay signing

By Sports Desk June 19, 2021

Memphis Depay has been confirmed as a Barcelona player, with the Netherlands forward joining on a free transfer from Lyon.

Depay is on international duty with the Netherlands, with his penalty against Austria on Thursday having helped Frank de Boer's Oranje secure top spot in Euro 2020 Group B with a 2-0 win.

Once the Netherlands' Euros campaign is over, Depay will link up with Barca, who have held a long-standing interest in the former Manchester United attacker.

The 27-year-old, who joined Lyon in 2016-17 after failing to find his feet at Old Trafford, will sign a two-year deal with Barca upon the expiration of his contract with the Ligue 1 club on June 30.

Depay excelled at Lyon and was close to joining Barca – coached by his former Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman – for much of the past year, yet he stayed in France.

He enjoyed a fine final season in Ligue 1, scoring 20 times, trailing only Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe (27), while his 12 assists and 94 chances created were the most in France's top flight.

Depay becomes Barcelona's fourth signing of the close season, following on from Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia – both signed on free transfers from Manchester City – and right-back Emerson.

However, Barca missed out on the signing of Depay's Netherlands team-mate Georginio Wijnaldum, who elected to join PSG when his Liverpool contract expires.

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