Nicolò Barella

Nicolò Barella (born 7 February 1997) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Inter Milan and the Italy national team.

Known for his technical ability, work rate, and creativity, he is often recognised as one of the best midfielders in the world.

Born in Cagliari, Barella is a youth exponent from Cagliari Calcio.

He was named the best young Italian player born in 1997 for two consecutive years between 2012 and 2013.

He made his first appearance on 15 January 2015, playing against Parma at the Tardini in the Coppa Italia, which resulted in a 2–1 loss.

His debut in Serie A came on 4 May 2015 again against Parma, replacing Diego Farias after 68 minutes in a 4–0 home win.

In January 2016, he was sent on loan to Como in Serie B, where he played as a first-choice for the second part of the season.

With the Italy U19 team, Barella took part at the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, finishing in second place.

On 17 September 2017, after having returned to Cagliari, he scored his first professional and Serie A goal against SPAL in a 2–0 home win.

Three months later, he became the youngest captain ever in the history of Cagliari, at the age of 20 years, 10 months, and 9 days.

With the Italy U20 he took part at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, finishing in third place.

Barella made his debut with the Italy U21 team on 1 September 2017, in a 3–0 friendly defeat against Spain.

At the end of the season, Barella is the player with the highest number of balls recovered (253) in the 2018–19 Serie A, also winning the Premio Bulgarelli Number 8 for the best midfielder of the season and being included for the first time in the Serie A Team of the Year.

Barella was called up to the senior Italy squad by manager Gian Piero Ventura for the team's 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Macedonia and Albania in October 2017.

He made his debut for the Italy senior side on 10 October 2018, under manager Roberto Mancini, in a 1–1 friendly draw against Ukraine in Genoa.

On 24 February 2019, in the match against Sampdoria, which was lost 1–0, he reached 100 appearances with the Cagliari jersey at the age of 22.

On 12 July 2019, Barella joined Inter Milan on a year-long loan deal with an obligation to buy with four-year contract to take effect after the loan period.

He made his club debut on 26 August against Lecce; he came off the bench in the second half for Matías Vecino, and later helped set-up Antonio Candreva's goal in an eventual 4–0 home win in Inter's opening match of the 2019–20 Serie A season.

He made his Champions League debut on 17 September against Slavia Prague; after coming off the bench for Marcelo Brozović in the second half, he scored an injury-time equalising goal to help Inter to a 1–1 home draw, which was his first goal both in the competition and for Inter.

On 9 November, he scored his first league goal for the club as Inter came from behind to achieve a 2–1 home win over Verona.

On 23 March 2019, Barella scored his first goal for Italy in a 2–0 home win over Finland in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match.

He took part with the U21 side in the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

In June 2021, he was included in Italy's squad for UEFA Euro 2020.

In Italy's second group match on 16 June, he set up Manuel Locatelli second goal in an eventual 3–0 win over Switzerland, which allowed Italy to advance to the round of 16.

On 2 July, he scored Italy's opening goal of the match, and later assisted Lorenzo Insigne's goal, in a 2–1 win over Belgium in the quarter-finals of the competition.

On 11 July, Barella won the European Championship with Italy following a 3–2 penalty shoot-out victory over England at Wembley Stadium in the final, after a 1–1 draw in extra-time; Barella started the match, but was substituted by Bryan Cristante in the second half of regulation time.

He scored his first goal in the Coppa Italia on 29 January 2020, in 2–1 home win over Fiorentina, in the quarter-finals of the tournament.

With the team, he reached the 2020 UEFA Europa League final, where they lost to Sevilla.

At the end of the season, he was included in the Serie A Team of the Year and the UEFA Europa League Squad of the season.

On 17 January 2021, Barella assisted for the first goal for Arturo Vidal and scored a vital second in a 2–0 home win against rivals and defending champions Juventus in Serie A. At the end of the 2020–21 Serie A season, he won the Scudetto and was elected Best Midfielder by Lega Serie A as well as included (for the third edition in a row) in the 2020–21 Serie A Team of the Year.

On 5 November 2021, Barella signed a contract extension with Inter, keeping him at the club until 2026.

At the end of the 2021–22 season, after having won the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana, Barella (and his teammate Hakan Çalhanoğlu) totalled 12 assists, which is the highest number for an Inter player since Opta Sports started collecting such data in 2004–05.

At the end of the season, he was included in the 2021–22 Serie A Team of the Year for the fourth year in a row.

In the 2022–23 season, Barella won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana with Inter again.

In the Coppa Italia final, he assisted Lautaro Martinez for the second Nerazzurri 's goal.

He was awarded the Best Midfielder title again by Lega Serie A and included in the Serie A Team of the Year for the fifth year in a row.

In the Champions League, Barella reached the final with Inter, which was the first time the club had reached the final in 13 years.

He received the Player of the Match award during the tournament for his outstanding performance in the 3-3 draw against Barcelona in the group stage, in which he scored the opening goal.

On 10 October, Barella scored the opening goal in a 2–1 home win over Belgium in the bronze medal match of the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League.

Barella is considered a talented midfielder in the European sports media.