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Nicolò Barella

Barella with Italy in 2021

Personal information

Date of birth

7 February 1997 (age 28)

Place of birth

Cagliari, Italy

Height

1.72 m

Playing position

Central midfielder

Club information

Current club

Inter Milan

Number

Youth career

2006–2015

Cagliari

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps^†

(Gls)^†

2015–2020

Cagliari

105

(7)

2016

→ Como (loan)

(0)

2019–2020

→ Inter Milan (loan)

(1)

2020–

Inter Milan

161

(17)

National team^‡

2012

Italy U15

(0)

2012–2013

Italy U16

(0)

2013–2014

Italy U17

(0)

2014–2015

Italy U18

(0)

2015–2016

Italy U19

(0)

2016–2017

Italy U20

(0)

2017–2019

Italy U21

(1)

2018–

Italy

(10)

Honours

Men's Football

Representing Italy
UEFA European Championship
Winner	2020 Europe
UEFA Nations League
Third	2021 Italy
Third	2023 Netherlands
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Third	2017 South Korea
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Runner-up	2016 Germany
CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions
Runner-up	2022 England

Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 January 2025.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2024

Nicolò Barella Cavaliere OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [nikoˈlɔ bbaˈrɛlla]; born 7 February 1997) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Serie A 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
- Inter Milan
International career
Style of play
Personal life
Career statistics
- Club
- International
Honours
- Orders
See also

Club career

Cagliari and short spell in Como

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

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, 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.

Inter Milan

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. 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.

Barella (right) with Internazionale in 2023

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.

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, and was incldued in the Serie A Team of the Year for a record six times in a row. On 11 June 2024, he extended his contract with the club until 2029.

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.

International career

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

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.

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 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.

On 10 October 2021, 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.

On 24 March 2024, Barella was given the captain’s armband for the first time in a 2–0 win friendly against Ecuador, in which he also scored the second goal.

In June 2024, he 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 win 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.

Style of play

Barella is considered a talented midfielder in the European sports media. He was named the best young Italian player born in 1997 for two consecutive years between 2012 and 2013. 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, while in 2023, ESPN included him in their list of 100 best men's soccer attacking midfielders.

Personal life

Barella married Federica Schievenin in 2018, and they have since become parents to three daughters and a son.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			Coppa Italia		Europe		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Cagliari	2014–15	Serie A	3	0	1	0	—		—		4	0
	2015–16	Serie B	5	0	0	0	—		—		5	0
	2016–17	Serie A	28	0	2	0	—		—		30	0
	2017–18	Serie A	34	6	1	0	—		—		35	6
	2018–19	Serie A	35	1	3	0	—		—		38	1
	Total		105	7	7	0	—		—		112	7
Como (loan)	2015–16	Serie B	16	0	0	0	—		—		16	0
Inter Milan (loan)	2019–20	Serie A	27	1	4	1	10	2	—		41	4
Inter Milan	2020–21	Serie A	36	3	4	0	6	0	—		46	3
	2021–22	Serie A	36	3	5	1	6	0	1	0	48	4
	2022–23	Serie A	35	6	4	0	12	3	1	0	52	9
	2023–24	Serie A	37	2	1	0	8	0	2	0	48	2
	2024–25	Serie A	17	3	0	0	6	0	2	0	25	3
	Total		188	18	18	2	48	5	6	0	260	25
Career total			309	25	25	2	48	5	6	0	388	32

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Italy	2018	4	0
	2019	8	3
	2020	6	1
	2021	17	3
	2022	7	1
	2023	9	0
	2024	8	2
Total		59	10

Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Barella goal.

List of international goals scored by Nicolò Barella
No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	23 March 2019	Stadio Friuli, Udine, Italy	5	Finland	1–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
2	8 June 2019	Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece	6	Greece	1–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
3	18 November 2019	Stadio Renzo Barbera, Palermo, Italy	12	Armenia	3–0	9–1	UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
4	7 September 2020	Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands	14	Netherlands	1–0	1–0	2020–21 UEFA Nations League A
5	4 June 2021	Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna, Italy	23	Czech Republic	2–0	4–0	Friendly
6	2 July 2021	Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany	27	Belgium	1–0	2–1	UEFA Euro 2020
7	10 October 2021	Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italy	33	Belgium	1–0	2–1	2021 UEFA Nations League Finals
8	7 June 2022	Stadio Dino Manuzzi, Cesena, Italy	38	Hungary	1–0	2–1	2022–23 UEFA Nations League A
9	24 March 2024	Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States	53	Ecuador	2–0	2–0	Friendly
10	15 June 2024	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	54	Albania	2–1	2–1	UEFA Euro 2024