Nicolò Barella

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

2019–20

On 12 July 2019, Barella joined Inter Milan on a year-long loan deal with an obligation to buy with a 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…

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…

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…

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