Sandro Tonali

Brescia

Tonali made his professional debut for Brescia Calcio on 26 August 2017, aged 17, coming on as a substitute in the Serie B away match lost 2–1 against Avellino. On 28 April 2018 he scored his first professional career goal, in a 4–2 defeat against Salernitana in Serie B. He obtained 19 league appearances in total during his first season as a professional player, scoring two goals and providing two assists during the 2017–18 Serie B season. The following season, Tonali won the Serie B title with Brescia, and achieved promotion to Serie A, featuring as a starter for the club throughout the entire 2018–19 season. He made his Serie A debut on 25 August 2019, aged 19, in a 1–0 away win against Cagliari. On 29 September, he assisted Mario Balotelli's goal from a corner kick in a 2–1 away loss to Napoli; he also scored a goal during the match with a powerful shot from outside the area, which was disallowed by VAR, however, for a foul by Brescia's Dimitri Bisoli on Napoli's Nikola Maksimović. He scored his first Serie A goal on 26 October, netting a long-range free kick into the top corner from the left flank, which was the opening goal in an eventual 3–1 away defeat to Genoa.

AC Milan

2020–2021: loan

On 9 September 2020, Tonali joined AC Milan, on a season-long loan for €10 million with an option to buy for €15 million, plus bonuses worth €10 million. The player will earn a yearly wage of €2 million for five years. Three days later, he made his…

With the Italy U19 team, Tonali took part in the 2018 European Under-19 Championship, reaching the final of the tournament, where Italy lost 4–3 after extra time against Portugal. On 21 March 2019, he made his debut with the Italy U21 in a goalless friendly draw against Austria in Trieste. Tonali took part in the 2019 European Under-21 Championship. In November 2018, Tonali received his first call-up to the Italian senior squad by manager Roberto Mancini. On 10 October 2019, after appearing for the Italy U21 team in a goalless draw against Ireland in a European qualifier, he was called up to the Italy senior squad once again the following day for the team's Euro 2020 qualifiers against Greece and Liechtenstein. Tonali made his senior international debut on 15 October 2019, coming on as a substitute in the 5–0 away victory against Liechtenstein in Vaduz. On 15 November, he started for the team in a 3–0 away victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina of the same tournament.

Regarded as a promising player in his youth by the media, Tonali has been described by pundits as a regista, although he is also described as a versatile midfielder, who is capable of playing in several roles. In his youth, he was often likened to Andrea Pirlo – who also started his career with Brescia – in terms of his movement, coordination, appearance, technical qualities, position, and playing style. Considered to be a strong, fast, energetic, elegant, and creative midfielder, with an ability to read the game, Tonali usually plays in a central or defensive midfield role as a deep-lying playmaker in a 4–3–3 formation. Dictating plays for Brescia with his passing in midfield, he set up two goals and scored two himself in his 19 appearances in Serie B during the 2017–18 season. Although naturally right-footed, he is known for his long passing ability with either foot. Moreover, he is also adept at taking set-pieces. He is also known to play as a box-to-box midfielder, while his creativity, ability to find space, make late runs, and his penchant for driving forward with the ball saw him deployed in a more advanced role on occasion at Milan under manager Stefano Pioli, namely as a mezzala. In addition to Pirlo, Tonali has also cited Steven Gerrard and Luka Modrić as influences, and has also compared his own playing style to that of Gennaro Gattuso. In July 2019, he was named by UEFA as one of the 50 promising young players to watch for the 2019–20 season.

Tonali has been an AC Milan fan since childhood. On 1 July 2025, Tonali married Juliette Pastore. On 8 January 2026, they welcomed their first child, Leonardo.