Francesco Acerbi

Francesco Acerbi (born 10 February 1988) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Inter Milan and the Italy national team.

Until the age of 22, Acerbi played only in the lower tiers of Italian football, before being purchased by the Serie B club Reggina, where he established himself as a starting lineup defender.

Born in Vizzolo Predabissi, Lombardy, Acerbi started his career at Lombard team Pavia, making his league debut on 23 April 2006.

He returned to Pavia on 30 January and played in the last round of 2006–07 Serie C2.

On 2 August, Acerbi was loaned to Triestina then to Spezia on 16 August, though he only played for the latter's primavera under-20 team.

He returned to Pavia on 1 July and became a regular in the first-team.

He was then loaned to Serie D team Renate on 11 January 2007 and played a club friendly on the same day.

He made his official debut on 28 January in a 0–0 draw with Palazzolo.

He played both legs of 2009–10 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione promotion playoffs and finished as losing semi-finalists.

The team was promoted after some teams were expelled from the league due to financial problems.

Acerbi received a call-up to the pre-season camp of Serie B team Reggina on 13 July and the co-ownership deal completed on 16 July.

Acerbi only missed two games in 2010–11 Serie B and played both legs of promotion playoffs, losing to eventual playoff winners Novara in the semi-final.

He played once during the 2010–11 Coppa Italia, a match he was ultimately sent off in.

He was suspended in the next cup match and was not included in the third round.

In 2011, Acerbi signed with Chievo, thus making his Serie A debut.

Despite being used only sporadically, Acerbi managed to draw the attention of AC Milan, who signed him the next summer.

Having appeared in just ten games for the Rossoneri, Acerbi was sent back on loan to Chievo to complete the season.

On 31 January 2011, Pavia sold the remain 50 percent registration rights to Reggina for an undisclosed fee, whereupon the Calabrian side formed another co-ownership deal with Serie A team Genoa for €1 million.

On 24 June 2011, Genoa purchased the remaining 50 percent of Acerbi's registration rights from Reggina for €2.2 million and sent Antonino Ragusa the other direction.

On 1 July 2011, Acerbi was sold to Chievo in a co-ownership deal for €2 million as part of the deal that saw Kévin Constant transferred to Genoa for €7.8 million, with Ivan Fatić also returning to Chievo for €200,000 in June 2011.

Acerbi entered the starting XI in the second half of the season making 14 starts, partnering with Marco Andreolli in nine games, Dario Dainelli three games and Boštjan Cesar two games.

On 20 June 2012, Milan bought Chievo's 50 percent share of Acerbi, with Genoa retaining the remaining half of his registration rights.

Co-currently, Milan signed Kévin Constant in temporary loan deal from Genoa.

In July 2012, Isaac Cofie joined Chievo from Genoa as part of financial compensation.

Genoa revealed in the financial report of 2012 calendar year that Genoa repurchased 50 percent of the registration rights to Acerbi for €3.75 million and subsequently sold them to Milan for €4 million, whilst Cofie cost Chievo €1.5 million.

The deals effectively made Genoa a profit of €250,000, whilst Chievo received new compensation for Constant's price tag.

Acerbi debuted for Milan in its 3–1 win over Bologna, though he failed to gain a stable place in starting line-up and left the club during the winter transfer window.

He made seven appearances in the second half of 2012–13 Serie A.

In 2013, he signed with Sassuolo, promoted to the Serie A for the first time in the club's history.

On 26 January 2013, Milan purchased 50 percent of the rights of Kévin Constant for €4 million.

Acerbi, as a part of the deal, moved to Genoa also for €4 million, from where his previous club Chievo loaned him back for a €300,000 fee.

On 9 July 2013, Sassuolo, recently promoted to the Serie A, purchased half of Acerbi's playing rights for a €1.8 million fee.

another remained a propriety of Genoa.

During a pre-season medical, unusual blood tests revealed a testicular tumour, having surgery to remove the tumour.

During his debut season for the club he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and successfully cured by the end of campaign, which paved the way for his return to the pitch in September 2014.

An Italian international since 2014, Acerbi played for the national team on three occasions in friendly games before making his competitive debut in 2019, later taking part in his nation's victorious UEFA Euro 2020 campaign.

In 2018, having made 173 appearances in all competitions for the Neroverdi, Acerbi transferred to Lazio, where he continued to be a starting defender.

He was loaned to Inter Milan for the 2022–23 campaign, helping them reach the Champions League final.

At the end of the season, Inter exercised his buy option clause and signed Acerbi permanently.

In 2019, Acerbi revealed that during his time in Milan he suffered from depression, grieving the death of his father, and often relied on alcohol to quell his emotional pain.