Wikipedia

Mattia Liberali

Mattia Liberali (born 6 April 2007) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and winger for Serie B club Catanzaro.

Mattia Liberali
Personal information
Date of birth (2007-04-06) 6 April 2007 (age 19)
Place of birth Carate Brianza, Italy
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Catanzaro
Number 14
Youth career
2013–2014 Aquile della Brianza
2014–2015 La Dominante
2015–2025 AC Milan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024–2025 Milan Futuro (res.) 8 (0)
2024–2025 AC Milan 1 (0)
2025– Catanzaro 29 (4)
International career‡
2022 Italy U15 6 (4)
2022–2023 Italy U16 10 (3)
2023–2024 Italy U17 28 (6)
2024– Italy U19 16 (5)
2025– Italy U20 4 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Italy
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Winner2024 Cyprus
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 29 May 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 28 March 2026

Early life

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Liberali was born in Carate Brianza, Italy.[1]

Club career

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AC Milan

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In 2013, the manager of local amateur side Rhodense [it], Alberto Bianchi, spotted Liberali and invited him to play in a youth tournament with a view to later sign him.[2] However, he would participate at the tournament with Aquile della Brianza from Muggiò instead, spending a year with the side before joining La Dominante, who he would train during the week with, while playing with professional side AC Milan on weekends.[2]

After a year of this arrangement, Liberali made the switch to AC Milan permanent.[2] During the 2021–22 under-16 Scudetto tournament, he finished second-top scorer behind Francesco Camarda with nine goals, as AC Milan went on to win the competition.[2] He was called up to train with the first team for the first time, alongside Camarda and Nirash Perera, in December 2022.[3] The following year, in July 2023, he signed his first professional contract with the club through 2027.[4]

Liberali joined AC Milan for their 2024–25 pre-season, displaying impressive performances during the friendly matches, including the headlining assist for a 1–0 win against Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid at the Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, United States, the club's third friendly match on 31 July 2024.[5] He made his professional debut on 10 August 2024, starting for the newly created reserve team Milan Futuro, and scoring the first goal of a 3–0 away win Coppa Italia Serie C first round match against Lecco.[6]

Liberali made his debut with AC Milan on 15 December 2024, starting on a 0–0 home draw Serie A match against Genoa, simultaneously celebrating the club's 125th anniversary.[7]

He was one of the players that were called up by AC Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri, for the 2025 AC Milan Asia-Pacific Tour pre-season matches against English Premier League clubs Arsenal and Liverpool, as well as Australian A-League Men club Perth Glory on 23, 26 and 31 July 2025, respectively.[8]

Catanzaro

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On 8 August 2025, Liberali joined Serie B club Catanzaro on a free transfer, signing a contract until 2029.[9][10]

International career

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Liberali has represented Italy at the under-15, under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-20 levels.[11]

With the U17 side he won the 2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[12]

Style of play

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Initially a central defender while playing at 7-a-side level, Liberali was moved up the pitch in the academy of AC Milan, settling at left-wing, with Italy under-17 coach Massimiliano Favo [it] also utilising him as an attacking midfielder.[2] Former AC Milan defender and current football pundit, Alessandro Costacurta, compared him with English international Phil Foden for their similar playing style.[13]

In October 2024, Liberali was included in The Guardian's list of the 60 best talents in the world born in 2007.[14]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 29 May 2026.[15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Milan Futuro 2024–25 Serie C 802[a]1—101
AC Milan 2024–25 Serie A 10000010
Catanzaro 2025–26 Serie B 29[b]4[c]10—304
Career total 3843100415
  1. ↑ Appearances in Coppa Italia Serie C
  2. ↑ Five appearances in the play-offs
  3. ↑ One goal in the play-offs

Honours

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References

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  1. ↑ "Mattia Liberali". acmilan.com (in Italian). Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Barilaro, Andrea (10 May 2022). "BII nuovo fuoriclasse del Milan dal mancino fatato: Mattia Liberali incanta il Diavolo, e con la Nazionale..." [The new AC Milan champion with the fairy left-handed: Mattia Liberali enchants the Devil, and with the national team...]. sprintesport.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  3. ↑ Schettino, Francesco (7 December 2022). "Milan, prosegue la linea giovane: Camarda, Liberali e Perera si allenano con la primavera" [Milan, the young line continues: Camarda, Liberali and Perera train with the spring]. footballnews24.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  4. ↑ Antonelli, Michele (19 July 2023). "Il Milan blinda "il mago" Liberali, il 2007 mancino paragonato a Foden" [Milan locks up "the magician" Liberali, the left-handed 2007 compared to Foden]. gazzetta.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  5. ↑ "AC Milan 1-0 Real Madrid, DIRECTV Soccer Champions Tour 2024: The match report".
  6. ↑ "Lecco 0-3 Milan Futuro, Coppa Italia Serie C 2024/2025: The match report".
  7. ↑ "AC Milan-Genoa: Football Serie A 2024/25 fixture".
  8. ↑ "PRE-SEASON TOUR 2025: THE ROSSONERI'S SQUAD". AC Milan. 19 July 2025. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  9. ↑ "MATTIA LIBERALI È GIALLOROSSO" (in Italian). US Catanzaro. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  10. ↑ "OFFICIAL STATEMENT: MATTIA LIBERALI". acmilan.com. 8 August 2025.
  11. ↑ Mattia Liberali at WorldFootball.net
  12. ↑ "I 20 convocati di Favo per la fase finale. Il 21 maggio l'esordio con la Polonia". FIGC (in Italian). 16 May 2024.
  13. ↑ Scapellato, Fabio (20 July 2023). "Mattia Liberali, chi è il "Nuovo Foden" che il Milan ha blindato a soli 16 anni" [Mattia Liberali, who is the "New Foden" that Milan locked up at just 16 years old]. spraynews.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  14. ↑ Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven; Blight, Garry (15 October 2024). "Next Generation 2024: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  15. ↑ "Mattia Liberali". Soccerway.com. 7 February 2026.
  16. ↑ "UEFA Under-17 EURO final report: Italy 3-0 Portugal". UEFA. 5 June 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  17. ↑ "2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament". UEFA. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
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