Valentín Carboni

Early years

Born in Buenos Aires, in his early childhood, Carboni played futsal at the grassroots team Club Lafuente in Lanús. In 2013, at the age of eight, he started playing football by joining the youth academy of Lanús. In July 2019, Carboni joined the youth sector of Italian side Catania, together with his older brother Franco and his father Ezequiel, who had just taken on a double role as youth coach and head of youth development at the club.

Inter Milan

2020–2022: Youth sector

One year later, after having attracted the interest of several high-profile European clubs, the Carboni brothers both joined Serie A club Inter Milan, for an estimated €300,000 transfer fee. Carboni quickly came through the Nerazzurri's youth ranks, establishing himself as part of the under-19 squad since the start of the 2021–22 season, and helping said team win the under-19 national championship in 2022.

2022–23 season: First team debut

At the start of the 2022–23 season, while keeping featuring for the Primavera team in the national league and in the UEFA Youth League, Carboni started training with Inter Milan's first team under head coach Simone Inzaghi. Carboni subsequently made his professional debut on 1 October 2022 at 17 years and 206 days, coming on as a substitute for Federico Dimarco in the 88th minute of a 2–1 league loss against Roma. On 1 November, he made his UEFA Champions League debut, replacing Joaquín Correa in the 76th minute of a…

Due to having dual citizenship of Italy and Argentina, Carboni is eligible to represent both countries at the international level.

Italy youth

In 2019, he was involved in several training camps with the Italian under-15 national team. He went on to play for the under-17 national team between 2021 and 2022.

Argentina youth

In March 2022, Carboni switched his international allegiance to Argentina and received his first official call-up to the Argentine senior national team, having been included in the preliminary list for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Venezuela and Ecuador. Later that May, Carboni was included by head coach Javier Mascherano in the Argentine under-20 squad that took part in the Maurice Revello Tournament in France, as the Albiceleste eventually finished in fifth place, after winning the play-off match against Japan. In October, Carboni was included by head coach Lionel Scaloni in Argentina's preliminary squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, but did not make the final 26-man list. In March 2023, Carboni was called up again to the Argentina senior national team for two friendly matches against Panama and Curaçao. The same year in May, he was included in the final squad for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina. On the debut on 20 May he scored his first goal in a 2–1 victory against Uzbekistan.

Argentina senior

Carboni made his debut for the senior Argentina national team on 26 March 2024 in a…

Carboni is a left-footed attacking midfielder who mainly operates in the number 10 role, but can also play as a centre-forward, an inverted winger on the right side, or a mezzala. An elegant, composed, and creative player, he frequently moves between his team's attacking lines, whether he keeps possession with his ball control, finds teammates via through passes or first-touch combinations, or directly goes for the shot from short or long range. Despite being mainly regarded for his offensive contributions, much to his vision, individual technique, and dribbling skills, Carboni has proved to be effective in the defensive side of his game as well, especially because of his work rate. He named compatriot Lionel Messi as his biggest source of inspiration. In September 2022, Carboni was included in The Guardian's list of the 60 best talents in the world to be born in 2005.

Carboni is the son of former Argentine footballer Ezequiel Carboni. His older brother Franco (born 2003) is a footballer himself: the two played together in the youth sectors of Lanús, Catania and Inter Milan. He also has two younger siblings, Cristiano (born 2009) and Alma (born 2016).