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Barcelona complete long-awaited signing of former Man Utd flop

Former Manchester United attacker Memphis Depay has completed his transfer to Barcelona following the end of his contract at Lyon.

The forward flopped in Manchester but has rebuilt his career successfully in France. After a successful spell with Lyon, he has now made a long-awaited move to Barcelona. He has signed a two-year contract at Camp Nou, where he will reunite with his former Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman.

Currently on duty with his national team at Euro 2020, he will be ready to begin a new adventure once his involvement at the tournament ends.

It has been a busy summer for Barcelona already. They have signed Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia from Manchester City on free deals and have now picked up another talented star without a transfer fee.

Working with a reduced budget, they have had to be smart about signings. Fortunately for them, several targets have been available as free agents, with Depay now the third to follow that route to Camp Nou in a matter of weeks.

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In addition to those moves, Barca exercised their buyout clause for Emerson Royal from Real Betis recently.

Koeman’s side finished third in La Liga in 2020-21, so will be aiming to get back where they belong next season.

New challenge for Depay

Lyon spent less than £15m on Depay when United sold him in 2017. He only scored seven goals during his stint with the Red Devils, which only lasted 18 months after he moved from PSV Eindhoven.

He will be hoping his next big move goes better than that one did. Now 27 years old and having revived his fortunes over the past four years, he is well equipped to do so.

Depay scored 76 goals in 178 appearances for Lyon and arrives at Barcelona in the prime of his career. They have found a compromise over the length of his contract, which was the only obstacle holding up the deal, and can now look forward to working together.

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