Anthony Gordon grew up in Merseyside dreaming of playing for Barcelona and signed from Newcastle United for an initial €70 million this summer, according to ESPN. The England winger has immediately become a regular in Hansi Flick’s preferred attack, operating alongside Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, and started in Barcelona’s recent Champions League win over Aston Villa and Sunday’s LaLiga meeting with Atlético Madrid.
Earlier this season Gordon said people in England were beginning to respect “the quality and IQ that I play with,” a remark he later clarified in an interview with ESPN. He told the outlet he did not mean critics had judged him unfairly, but that he had not previously been seen in a system that highlights those attributes.
Gordon’s route to Camp Nou included spells in relegation battles with boyhood club Everton, a loan to Preston North End in 2021 and a move to Newcastle in 2023 that produced mixed moments. He had a public clash with then-manager Eddie Howe after being brought on and later substituted against Brentford, but regrouped after a conversation with teammate Kieran Trippier and produced his best form for Newcastle.
That form saw Gordon finish the 2023-24 season as Newcastle’s player of the season with a goal contribution rate of 0.65 per 90 minutes, earn his England debut against Brazil and secure a place in the Euro 2024 squad, according to ESPN. Liverpool showed interest in him in the summer of 2024, and Howe said he would welcome Gordon back “with three arms if I had them,” the club manager told ESPN.
Gordon also endured a difficult run from Jan. 25, 2025, to Dec. 2, 2025, without a league goal or assist, but Howe persisted with him. His performances in the Champions League, ESPN reports, helped attract attention from top clubs including Bayern Munich and Barcelona before his transfer.
At Barcelona, Gordon has settled into a prominent attacking role under Flick and is being showcased in a system the winger says better displays his qualities, according to his comments to ESPN.
