Argentine defender Valentín Barco is set to join Chelsea, but his arrival at Stamford Bridge is expected to be met with hostility in the Premier League due to his confrontation with Jude Bellingham during a World Cup semi-final. However, the fiery red-haired youngster is no stranger to controversy.

Bellingham was furious with Barco during that heated World Cup semi-final and allegedly slapped him after the match. The England star was reportedly angered by Barco’s exaggerated celebrations. Barco and the Argentina substitutes celebrated wildly after Lautaro Martínez scored the decisive goal.

The 22-year-old Barco will now have fellow Argentine and another controversial figure, Enzo Fernández, alongside him as he faces the challenge of adapting to English football. Chelsea have reportedly set a price tag of £120 million for Fernández, although no club has met their valuation so far. Fernández previously sparked controversy when he celebrated an equaliser against a team managed by Thomas Tuchel by covering his ears in front of England supporters.

Regardless of what happens with his international teammate, Barco is likely to face consequences for his actions after Martínez’s stoppage-time winner. The former Brighton player was not involved in the match but ran onto the pitch and appeared to taunt England players.

After the final whistle, Barco allegedly said or did something that further provoked Bellingham, leading to the England star striking him. Bellingham, however, escaped punishment for the incident.

Barco had already been involved in disciplinary issues before that. During the Olympic qualifying tournament in February 2024, he was sent off after throwing the ball at the head of Venezuela’s Rafael Uzcátegui following a foul decision against him. His teammate Bryant Ortega responded in a similar fashion to defend him, and both players were shown red cards.

Argentina feared Barco could miss the remaining two qualifying matches through suspension, but he was ultimately banned for just one game. He returned for the crucial clash against Brazil, where he played as a left-back and provided his third assist of the tournament, helping Argentina score the only goal and secure qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics. He also picked up a yellow card in stoppage time for kicking the ball away while Brazil were preparing to take a free kick.

All of this happened shortly after Barco joined Brighton in January 2024 for less than £8 million from Boca Juniors, before he had even made his debut for the Seagulls.

This transatlantic move was not the first time Barco had made major sacrifices for his football career. Boca Juniors identified his talent at an early age, but his hometown of Veinticinco de Mayo was located far from the club’s training facilities.

Barco once revealed:

“When I first started playing football, my mother and father drove 100 kilometres every day to take me to training. Later, we moved closer to the stadium.”

At Boca Juniors — the club where Diego Maradona and many Argentine legends made their names — Barco transitioned from a winger into a left-back. He made his first-team debut at just 16 years old and helped Boca reach the 2023 Copa Libertadores final at 19.

In the last-16 tie against Uruguay’s Nacional, he scored the decisive fifth penalty in the shootout. In the final against Brazilian side Fluminense, Barco started the match, but Boca eventually lost 2-1 after extra time.

Manchester City and other clubs had monitored Barco, but Brighton ultimately secured his signature. He followed in the footsteps of compatriot Alexis Mac Allister and Ecuadorian midfielder Moisés Caicedo by moving to the Amex Stadium.

Barco made seven appearances for Brighton during the remainder of the 2023-24 season, including three Premier League starts. The Seagulls then sent him on loan to Sevilla in La Liga for the 2024-25 campaign, but he returned early in the year due to limited playing time and injury problems.

Barco and his fiancée, Argentine influencer Yaz Jaureguy, also experienced a burglary at their home.

He later moved to Strasbourg, where his European career was revived under current Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior. After recovering from a hamstring injury, Barco started all of Strasbourg’s final 14 Ligue 1 matches of the season.