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.

Club career Cagliari and short spell in Como Born in Cagliari, Barella is a youth exponent from Cagliari Calcio. 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.

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.

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. At the end of the season, Barella is the player with the highest number of balls recovered (253) in the 2018–19 Serie A, 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. 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 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. At the end of the 2021–22 season, after having won the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana, 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.

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

2023–24 During the Inter-Roma match on 29 October 2023, he made his 200th appearance for Inter. On 22 April 2024, he won the Serie A title for the second time in his career,

2024–25 On 30 August 2024, he scored his first goal of the 2024–25 season with a spectacular volley in a 4-0 home win against Atalanta. In the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League, he was assigned the official Player of the Match award twice, against Manchester City in Matchday 1 and Young Boys in Matchday 3. He reached the final again (the second in three year), where Inter suffered the heaviest defeat in the history of the competition's finals, losing 5–0 to PSG.

After the Champions League final, Barella made his debut with Inter in the new-format FIFA Club World Cup, assisting Lautaro Martínez from a corner in the second match, a 2–1 win against Urawa Red Diamonds. Inter, however, were eliminated by Fluminense in the round of 16.

2025–26 On 25 October 2025, Barella made his 300th appearance for Inter in all competitions. During the 2025–26 season, Barella faced criticism in the Italian media for a perceived decline in form, with reports highlighting a drop in his attacking output and questioning his recent performances for both Inter and the Italy national team. His form was reported to have improved towards the closing stages of the campaign, with Italian media noting a recovery after an underwhelming start to 2026, as he went on to win his third Scudetto and his third Coppa Italia with the club at the end of the season.

International career Youth Barella was part of the Italy national under-21 football team in the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Senior Barella was called up to the senior Italian senior squad by coach Gian Piero Ventura for the team's 2018 World Cup qualification against Macedonia and Albania in October 2017. On 10 October 2018, he made his debut under coach Roberto Mancini in a 1–1 friendly draw against Ukraine in Genoa. On 23 March 2019, Barella scored his first goal for Italy in a 2–0 home victory against Finland in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match.

In June 2021, Barella 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 victory against 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 victory against 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 against England at Wembley Stadium in the final, after a 1–1 draw in extra-time; Barella started the match, but was replaced by Bryan Cristante in the second half of regulation time. On 10 October, Barella scored the opening goal in a 2–1 home victory against Belgium in the bronze medal match of the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League.

On 24 March 2024, Barella was given the captain’s armband for the first time in a 2–0 friendly victory against Ecuador, in which he also scored the second goal. Later that June, was included in Italy's squad for UEFA Euro 2024. In the Azzurri 's first match of the competition, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory against Albania with a half-volley from the edge of the box. However, Italy was eliminated by Switzerland in the round of 16 following a 2–0 defeat.

In March 2026, Italy failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, making it the nation's third consecutive absence from the tournament. Barella started in both of Italy's play-off matches, a 2–0 semi-final win over Northern Ireland and a 1–1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final, which Italy lost 4–1 on penalties. In the decisive match in Zenica, Barella provided the assist for Moise Kean's opening goal, but Italy were reduced to ten men before half-time after his Inter teammate Alessandro Bastoni was sent off. Italian football journalist Mina Rzouki described him as an intelligent, promising, and composed midfielder, despite his young age, with a wide range of skills. She also commented that Barella "...can dribble through a defence, score volleys and start counter-attacks. He knows how to find the right passes and is box-to-box. Most importantly he can win back possession quickly and recover the ball." Barella's performances have also been praised by Italian former footballers Andrea Pirlo and Alessandro Del Piero. The Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport has compared him to Steven Gerrard, describing him as a dynamic player with good technique, vision, stamina, and physical strength, despite his relatively short stature, as well as an ability to win balls, which enables him to break down possession and subsequently start quick attacking plays. A versatile player, he is capable of playing anywhere in midfield, and has even been used as an attacking midfielder or as a defensive midfielder, but his favoured role is as a right-sided, offensive-minded central midfielder, known as a "mezzala" in Italy. Known for his eye for goal, he possesses a good shot from outside the area, and is known for his ability to make late attacking runs from behind into the penalty area. He is also an accurate set piece and penalty taker. He is known for his strong character, leadership qualities, competitive spirit, and winning mentality, but has also drawn criticism at times in the press for protesting or arguing excessively with officials during matches. He has also been praised for his work-rate and creativity. His Italy teammate Jorginho has likened him to N'Golo Kanté. In 2021, former manager Fabio Capello described him as one of the three best midfielders in European football,

Career statistics Club

2020–21 Serie A

2021–22 Serie A

2022–23 Serie A

2025–26 Serie A

Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Barella goal. 2023–24, 2025–26 Coppa Italia: 2021–22, 2022–23, 2025–26 Supercoppa Italiana: 2021, 2022, 2023 UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2022–23, 2024–25 UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2019–20

Italy U20 FIFA U-20 World Cup third place: 2017

Italy UEFA European Championship: 2020 2022–23

Individual Ballon d'Or: 26th (2021), 27th (2023) Premio Bulgarelli Number 8: 2019–20 Serie A Team of the Year: 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24 2024–25 Serie A Best Midfielder: 2020–21, 2022–23 Serie A Team of the Season: 2022–23, 2024–25 Serie A Goal of the Month: August 2024 Gazzetta Sports Awards Exploit of the Year: 2021 Giuseppe Prisco Award: 2022

Orders