{
  "id": 4648714,
  "title": "Why Bradley Barcola rejected Salah's shirt to stick with number 29 at Liverpool",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/why-bradley-barcola-rejected-salahs-shirt-to-stick-with-number-29-at",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-31T13:40:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/why-bradley-barcola-rejected-salahs-134000714.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Bradley Barcola, the France international footballer, has decided to continue wearing the number 29 shirt at Liverpool despite Mohamed Salah's recent vacating of the shirt number. The 23-year-old has signed a long-term deal with Liverpool after completing his £106m transfer from Paris Saint-Germain. Barcola's choice of shirt number 29 is an odd selection, as there are other free shirts available for him. However, he explained that his affinity for the number came from his love of FIFA video game, particularly the 'The Journey' mode that followed the story of Alex Hunter, who wore the number 29. Barcola had told his love for the shirt was due to his admiration for Hunter and the significance the number held for him. He decided to adopt the number 29 when he turned professional, and he now intends to keep it for the rest of his career.",
  "summary": "Bradley Barcola will wear the number 29 shirt at Liverpool after completing his transfer to the Premier League. The France international hasfinalised his £106m move to Merseyside from PSG and has pen...",
  "key_points": [
    "Bradley Barcola rejects Salah's shirt to keep number 29 at Liverpool.",
    "23-year-old signs long-term deal with Liverpool after £106m transfer.",
    "Shirt number 29 chosen due to admiration for FIFA player Alex Hunter."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Bradley Barcola to Keep PSG Shirt Number with Liverpool",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/bradley-barcola-to-keep-psg-shirt-number-with-liverpool",
        "published": "2026-08-31T13:34:07.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}