Locatelli Manuel
Manuel Locatelli, Cavaliere OMRI, is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for the Italy national team. After coming through the club’s youth system, Locatelli made his professional debut with AC Milan, helping them win the 2016 Supercoppa Italiana. He moved to Sassuolo in 2018, before joining Juventus in 2021. Locatelli represents Italy in international football, and was part of the country’s victorious UEFA Euro 2020 squad. Born in Lecco, Lombardy, Locatelli began his career with Atalanta, before moving to AC Milan at the age of 11 years. With the Rossoneri he progressed through each youth category, from Esordienti to Primavera. In March 2015, Locatelli signed his first professional contract with Milan, effective from 1 July 2015 until 30 June 2018.
Did you Know?
This shirt was issued for Manuel Locatelli for the pre season friendly game between Juventus and Chivas Guadalajara which took place in Las Vegas, “Allegiant Stadium”, on July 23rd 2022. Juventus defeated Chivas 2-0. Like for the other games of the “Juve on The Road 2022” also against Chivas had an extra badge on sleeve to celebrate the hosting city of Las Vegas. On 18 August 2021, Juventus announced the signing of Locatelli on an initial two-year loan, with Juventus holding an obligation to then purchase the player for €25 million payable over three years plus €12.5 million in potential add-ons. At Juventus, Locatelli reunited with Massimiliano Allegri, who had once been the head coach of Milan and called up Locatelli to train with the senior team in 2013 aged 15. On 22 August, Locatelli debuted for Juventus in a 2–2 draw against Udinese, coming on as a substitute in the 90th minute. On 26 September, Locatelli scored his first goal for Juventus, the winning goal of a 3–2 home win over Sampdoria. In the 86th minute of play, he scored the lone goal of a 1–0 win against Derby della Mole rivals Torino on 2 October. On 22 October 2023, exactly seven years since the 1–0 home win for Milan against Juventus in the 2016–17 Serie A, courtesy of the goal by Locatelli, he faced Milan as an opponent and scored the only goal for Juventus in the 1–0 win at San Siro. On 9 November 2023, Locatelli signed a five-year contract extension with Juventus. On 22 November 2024, Locatelli captained Juventus in the Serie A game against Milan at the San Siro, which ended in a scoreless draw.
Did you Know?
This shirt was issued for Manuel Locatelli for the Fifa Club World Cup 2025 game between Al Ain and Juventus which took place in Washington, “Audi Field”, on June 19th 2025. Juventus defeated Al Ain 5-0. Locatelly was a substitute player and he didn’t get in to the field. The team exited the FIFA Club World Cup in the round of 16 with heads held high after a narrow 1–0 defeat by Real Madrid at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. On 18 August 2021, Juventus announced the signing of Locatelli on an initial two-year loan, with Juventus holding an obligation to then purchase the player for €25 million payable over three years plus €12.5 million in potential add-ons. At Juventus, Locatelli reunited with Massimiliano Allegri, who had once been the head coach of Milan and called up Locatelli to train with the senior team in 2013 aged 15. On 22 August, Locatelli debuted for Juventus in a 2–2 draw against Udinese, coming on as a substitute in the 90th minute. On 26 September, Locatelli scored his first goal for Juventus, the winning goal of a 3–2 home win over Sampdoria. In the 86th minute of play, he scored the lone goal of a 1–0 win against Derby della Mole rivals Torino on 2 October. On 22 October 2023, exactly seven years since the 1–0 home win for Milan against Juventus in the 2016–17 Serie A, courtesy of the goal by Locatelli, he faced Milan as an opponent and scored the only goal for Juventus in the 1–0 win at San Siro.[28] On 9 November 2023, Locatelli signed a five-year contract extension with Juventus. During the 2024–25 season, Locatelli assumed the club’s captaincy under coach Thiago Motta. On 25 May 2025, he scored from the penalty spot in a 3–2 away victory over Venezia, securing his club’s fourth-place finish in the league and qualification for the Champions League.
Did you Know?
Locatelli is primarily deployed as a deep lying midfielder, primarily operating in a attacking role in front of the team’s defence, in a position similar to that of his idol Andrea Pirlo, due to his ability to create chances or dictate the tempo of his team’s play in midfield with his passing range. A versatile midfielder, he can also play in a box-to-box role, or as a wing-leaning offensive–minded central midfielder in a 4–3–3 formation, alternatively known as the mezzala role in Italian football jargon, although this is not his preferred position; he has occasionally even been used as an attacking midfielder, a position in which he was initially fielded in his youth, before being moved into a deeper midfield role. While he is not particularly fast, he is an elegant and quick-thinking player, who possesses excellent vision, passing, ball control, technique, and dribbling skills, as well as a powerful and accurate shot from long range. His reading of the game, defensive work-rate, tactical intelligence, and ball-winning abilities are also optimal for a defensive midfielder. His playing style has been compared to that of Argentine midfielder Fernando Redondo, but with more of an offensive mindset, due to his ability to make late attacking runs off the ball from behind; he has also been likened to other playmakers such as Xavi, Zinedine Zidane, and Demetrio Albertini. Considered to be a promising young player, in 2015 The Guardian named him one of the 50 best young players in the world who were born in 1998. Locatelli made his debut with the senior Italy squad on 7 September 2020, playing as a starter in a 1–0 UEFA Nations League victory against the Netherlands in Amsterdam. On 28 March 2021, Locatelli scored his first goal for Italy, the second of a 2–0 away win over Bulgaria in a 2022 World Cup qualification match. In June 2021, Locatelli was included in Italy’s squad for UEFA Euro 2020 by manager Roberto Mancini. On 16 June, he scored two goals in Italy’s second group stage match, a 3–0 win against Switzerland. Although he started in Italy’s first two group games of the tournament, he was later relegated to the bench following the recovery of the injured Marco Verratti. On 6 July, in the semi-final of the competition against Spain, Locatelli came on as a substitute for Nicolò Barella late in the second half of regulation time; following a 1–1 draw after extra-time, he took Italy’s first spot-kick in resulting shoot-out, which was saved by Unai Simón, although Italy ultimately advanced to the final 4–2 on penalties.[33] On 11 July, Locatelli 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; Locatelli made a substitute appearance during the final, coming on for Verratti in the first half of extra-time.
