Barcelona FINALLY confirm £70m signing of Anthony Gordon after EIGHT-HOUR delay: Star signs five-year deal after leaving Newcastle

Barcelona have finally signed Anthony Gordon as a player from Newcastle on a £70m contract, with him contracted until 2031.

After a series of delays that saw the ceremony postponed from 12.30pm and no sign it would start at 8pm, Gordon was abducted at the Nou Camp.

The 25-year-old player, who is also in England’s World Cup squad this summer, He passed his health check and was going to be announced as a Barcelona player, but it took a few more hours for the news to be announced.

The LaLiga champions have repeatedly postponed his presentation due to minor paperwork issues and Gordon was expected to be announced on Barcelona’s YouTube channel.

His arrival was eventually confirmed in a social media post with the slogan: ‘Catch him if you can’.

Gordon, dressed in a suit and boots, then took to the stage live and spoke in Spanish, then added in English: ‘I knew this was going to happen, I was very calm while waiting in the hotel with my family and managers. Very excited. It was hard to wait.

The winger waited at his hotel for nearly nine hours before he was eventually introduced by the club.

‘I can’t explain (the delay). My part is complete. ‘I was ready for today, I think there was legal work and very small details.’

He later answered a question in Spanish and added: ‘I learned it too late. But from the moment I realized that Barca was a serious option, there was no doubt. This is the biggest club on the planet, it’s something I’ve always dreamed of, a dream come true.’

Sporting director Deco met with Gordon’s representatives on Monday and on Wednesday it was revealed the LaLiga champions had agreed a £70m deal which includes bonuses and a future percentage of any sale to the Magpies.

The winger arrived in Spain on Thursday afternoon and has since signed a five-year contract at the club.

Following his presentation at the Nou Camp, Gordon will join his England teammates for the Three Lions’ pre-World Cup training camp in Florida.

While Barcelona left behind tough competition to obtain the signature of the sought-after striker, both Bayern Munich and Liverpool showed great interest in the player.

Gordon’s team had held talks with both Barça and Bayern, and the framework of a personal agreement with the latter had been in place for several weeks. However, the Bundesliga club will not be able to go beyond the £60m valuation.

Gordon also said at his launch: ‘I know it takes a lot of responsibility but I’m ready. The shirt weighs too much and I’m ready.’ After being asked to answer in Spanish, he joked that he would have a hard time and then spoke in that language again.

He spoke Spanish at the opening and explained that he learned the language because he wanted to play for Barcelona one day.

He added: ‘I spoke to Hansi Flick, I’m even more excited. A very good person, a great manager.

‘When I was three years old I was excited to play for Barça. Playing with Lamine (Yamal) and others is very exciting for me. They are the best players in the world, they are very high quality. When we played them at St James’ Park we couldn’t touch the ball.

‘I wanted to speak Spanish because, believe it or not, I believed I would play for Barça. I told the physiotherapist in Newcastle that one day I would play for Barça.

‘I’ve only won one trophy at Newcastle so I’m extremely excited to win it here. Winning anything with Barça is special, it’s the biggest club on the planet. Winning here would be very special. ‘I want to win every trophy, but winning the Champions League and 6th place would be an iconic moment.’

He would later go on to pose in a Barcelona shirt holding his back, with his name and ‘2031’ written on it.

Liverpool, meanwhile, will have to look elsewhere after learning that Gordon has opted to join Barca rather than move to Anfield.

Gordon came close to joining Liverpool two years ago while on international duty at Euro 2024 with a medical team in Germany; but Newcastle pulled the plug on the deal, selling Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest.

Everton have a sell-on clause in which they will receive 15 per cent of the profits after selling Gordon to Newcastle for £45 million in 2023.

In his first season at the club, he had his sights set on winning the Champions League.

Newcastle shared their own farewell video to Gordon on social media. In the video, Gordon was quoted as saying: ‘I love every minute of playing for Newcastle. Newcastle is an incredible club to be a part of, I will never forget it and I will be a fan for the rest of my life.

I love ‘St James’ Park. I love playing there. We’ve had so many great nights, so many great victories. I think the energy and the fans were so iconic to me and I loved every minute of playing there.

‘On my first day, people immediately turned to me even though they didn’t have to. ‘I will never be able to thank you enough, but thank you so much.’

The English winger finished the season as Newcastle’s top scorer with 18 goals, but could not play in the last six matches of the season due to speculation about his future.

Magpies manager Eddie Howe previously admitted the uncertainty surrounding Gordon kept him away from the team towards the end of the season.

It is the second most expensive sale in Newcastle’s history, behind England’s record fee of £125 million from Liverpool for Alexander Isak last summer.

Gordon’s arrival in Catalonia has raised doubts about the future of Marcus Rashford, who left Manchester United on loan.

The only visible obstacle for the LaLiga champions to sign Rashford permanently has been financial, so it came as a surprise that they would spend much more heavily on Gordon.

Despite Gordon’s signing, Barcelona are understood to continue discussing a deal for Rashford with United this week, but their aim is to secure another loan rather than the permanent deal the Red Devils want.

Hansi Flick’s side have until June 15 to invoke their clause to buy the England forward for £26 million.