Giulia Dragoni

Giulia Dragoni (; born 7 November 2006) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder or right winger for Women's Super League club Chelsea and the Italy national team.

Club career

Early life and Inter Milan Born in Milan, Italy, Dragoni started playing football at the age of four, joining grassroots club Franco Scarioni, before moving to Cimiano, Here, she first came to prominence for her performances in mixed-sex junior championships, where she played until 2019,

Having first joined Inter Milan on trial for a youth tournament in 2018, Dragoni officially entered the club's youth sector in the summer of 2020.

Having been promoted to Inter's first team at the start of the 2022–23 season, under head coach Rita Guarino, Dragoni made her professional debut on 20 November 2022, coming in as a substitute for Ghoutia Karchouni in the 74th minute of a goalless league draw against Fiorentina. Having just turned 16 years old, she became the youngest player to ever feature in a Serie A match since the league had achieved full-time professional status. In the process, she became the first non-Spanish member of the women's team setup to reside at La Masia. In her first season at the club, she helped Barcelona B win the second-tier title, having scored four goals in ten matches;

2023–24 season At the start of the 2023–24 season, Dragoni was still primarily part of Barcelona B but was included as a regular training player of the first team. She made her first-team debut on 26 November 2023, coming on as a substitute for Mariona Caldentey in the 83rd minute of a 4–0 Liga F win over Athletic Club. In the process, at 17 years and 19 days, she became the youngest non-Spanish player to make her debut for a senior Barcelona team (in women's or men's football). On 13 December, she made her Champions League debut, coming on for Esmee Brugts in the 78th minute of a 6–0 win over FC Rosengård in the group stage, and a month later she made her first start and scored her first goal for Barcelona's first team, opening the scoring in a 6–0 Copa de la Reina win over Fundación Albacete.

Barcelona completed a quadruple, with Dragoni becoming the first Italian player to win the Women's Champions League, also winning the league title, the Copa de la Reina and the Supercopa. While she was given few opportunities to play for the first team, Spanish newspaper Sport stated that she "brought something different" every time she featured for Barcelona.

Loan to Roma On 17 July 2024, Dragoni renewed her contract with Barcelona until 2027, and subsequently joined Serie A club Roma on a season-long loan. Dragoni made her Serie A debut with Roma on 30 August 2024, coming on as a substitute for Benedetta Glionna in the 58th minute of a 2–2 draw with Lazio.

Chelsea On 31 July 2026, Dragoni joined Women's Super League club Chelsea, signing a contract until 2030.

International career

Dragoni has represented Italy at various youth international levels, having played for the under-16, under-17

In March 2023 she received her first call-up to the Italian senior national team for the friendly match against Colombia. In June of the same year, she was included in the preliminary squad for the 2023 FIFA World Cup by head coach Milena Bertolini. She subsequently made her debut for the Azzurre on 1 July, coming on as a substitute in the second half of a friendly match against Morocco, which ended in a goalless draw: at 16 years and 236 days, she became the youngest person to represent an Italian senior national football team in the 21st century, in the process, she became the second youngest player to get called up for the tournament, behind only Casey Phair. On 24 July 2023, Dragoni started in a 1–0 group stage win over Argentina: at 16 years and 259 days, a record that previously belonged to Rita Guarino, while also overtaking Giuseppe Bergomi as Italy's youngest player to take part in any World Cup match, including both men's and women's football.

International

Honours Barcelona Liga F: 2023–24 Copa de la Reina: 2023–24 Best Italian Golden Girl: 2024