Memphis Depay Joins Barcelona on Free Transfer After Signing 2-Year Contract

Barcelona bolstered its attack on Saturday. 

The Catalan giants announced the signing of former Lyon winger Memphis Depay as a free agent, inking him to a two-year deal. 

Depay will be reunited with his former Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman. Koeman tried to bring Depay to the Camp Nou last season, only for the move to fall apart because of La Liga's wage cap.

Instead, a year later he'll get his man on a free transfer. 

"Everyone knows I have been linked to Barca for a while now, and I want to play for Ronald Koeman," Depay told reporters this week during the Euros, where he's competing for the Dutch. "Just wait, and then the news will come."

Depay, 27, had a superb 2020-21 season for Lyon, scoring 20 goals and adding 12 assists in 37 Ligue 1 games (33 starts) while helping the club finish fourth in France's top league. He's continued his strong form at the Euros, with a goal in two games for the Netherlands. 

Barcelona will have an interesting and dangerous suite of attackers heading into the 2021-22 campaign, headlined by Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Depay, Ousmane Dembele, Ansu Fati and Sergio Aguero. 

How Koeman utilizes that depth will be fascinating. There's little doubt that Messi will feature, and given Koeman's desire to bring Depay aboard over the past two years, he seems likely to play a major role as well.