Samuele Ricci
_35_(cropped).jpg) Ricci with Torino in 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 21 August 2001 | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Pontedera, Italy | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | |||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | |||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team | AC Milan | |||||||||||||
| Number | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2019 | Empoli | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | Empoli | 83 | (3) | |||||||||||
| 2022 | → Torino (loan) | 12 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2022–2025 | Torino | 94 | (4) | |||||||||||
| 2025– | AC Milan | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Italy U17 | 12 | (3) | |||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Italy U18 | 6 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Italy U19 | 11 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2020–2023 | Italy U21 | 17 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2022– | Italy | 10 | (0) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 June 2025 | ||||||||||||||
Samuele Ricci (born 21 August 2001) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a central or defensive midfielder for Serie A club AC Milan and the Italy national team.
Club career
[edit]Empoli
[edit]Ricci came through the Empoli youth teams and started playing for their under-19 squad in the 2018–19 season.[2] He was called up to the senior squad for the first time in April 2019, but remained on the bench on that occasion. Ricci made his professional debut for Empoli on 21 September 2019, at the age of 18, replacing Leo Štulac in a 1–0 win against Cittadella.[3] The following season,e coach Alessio Dionisi mainly used him as a mezzala. On 18 January 2021, RIcci scored his first goal as a professional in the 5–0 victory against Salernitana. Empoli finished the season in first place in the league standing and were promoted to Serie A, with Ricci winning the Manlio Scopigno award as the best player of the season.[4]
Torino
[edit]On 30 January 2022, Ricci was loaned to Torino with a conditional obligation to purchase.[5] On 28 January 2023, he scored his first goal for Torino in a 2–2 draw away against former club Empoli.[6]
AC Milan
[edit]On 3 July 2025, Ricci completed his transfer to AC Milan from Torino for a fee of €23 million + €1.5 million in bonuses. He signed a contract until 30 June 2029, with an option in the club's favour for an extension until 30 June 2030, and chose to wear the shirt number 4.[7][8] Before his transfer eventually happened, he had already been linked with the move to Milan since April 2020, his debut season in senior football, with the club's numerous offers to sign the player turned down by both Empoli and Torino.[9]
International career
[edit]Ricci was first called up to the Italy under-17 team in December 2017 for a friendly against France.[10]
Ricci was selected in the senior Italy squad for the 2022 Finalissima against Argentina on 1 June 2022 – as well as 2022–23 UEFA Nations League group stage matches against Germany (twice), Hungary, England – between 4 and 14 June 2022.[11] He debuted against Germany in the latter tournament on 4 June.[12]
Style of play
[edit]Ricci is a right-footed player, mainly deployed as a playmaker in front of the defence or as a box-to-box midfielder, also known as a mezzala in his native Italy.[13] Gifted with excellent individual technique and sense of positioning, he is regarded as one of the most important prospects in Italian football. His reference model is Andrea Pirlo.[14]
Personal life
[edit]On 9 September 2020, Ricci tested positive for COVID-19.[15]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of match played 25 May 2025[16]
| Club | Season | League | Coppa Italia | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Empoli | 2019–20 | Serie B | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 30 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | Serie B | 33 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 36 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | Serie A | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 24 | 1 | ||
| Total | 83 | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | 90 | 3 | |||
| Torino (loan) | 2021–22 | Serie A | 12 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| Torino | 2022–23 | Serie A | 28 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 32 | 2 | |
| 2023–24 | Serie A | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 33 | 1 | ||
| 2024–25 | Serie A | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 36 | 1 | ||
| Total | 106 | 4 | 7 | 0 | — | 113 | 4 | |||
| AC Milan | 2025–26 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career total | 189 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 203 | 7 | ||
International
[edit]- As of match played 9 June 2025[17]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2022 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 10 | 0 | |
Honours
[edit]Empoli
Individual
- Serie B Footballer of the Year: 2020–21[18]
References
[edit]- ^ "Ricci Samuele". Torino FC (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ Samuele Ricci at TuttoCalciatori.net (in Italian)
- ^ "Empoli v Cittadella game report". Soccerway. Soccerway. 21 September 2019.
- ^ "Samuele Ricci ha vinto il premio Manlio Scopigno come miglior calciatore dell'ultimo campionato di Serie B". 3 August 2021.
- ^ "Ricci al Toro" (Press release) (in Italian). Torino. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
- ^ Lazzerini, Pietro (28 January 2023). "Le pagelle del Torino - Ricci conferma il cliché dell'ex. Lukic saluta con la sua qualità". TuttoMercatoWeb (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ "Official Statement: Samuele Ricci". AC Milan. 3 July 2025. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
- ^ "Milan, completate le visite mediche per Ricci: "Sono prontissimo"". Sportmediaset.it (in Italian). 3 July 2025.
- ^ https://m.milannews.it/primo-piano/tuttosport-milan-non-solo-tonali-per-il-centrocampo-piacciono-anche-koopmeiners-e-ricci-367959
- ^ "Ricci Italy U17 profile" (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ "Una 'Finalissima' per salutare l'azzurro. Chiellini: "Lascio senza rimpianti, l'Europeo il ricordo più bello"" (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 30 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ Ramazzotti, Andrea (4 June 2022). "L'Italia scopre Ricci, regista totale: "Grazie Toro, non poteva esserci inizio migliore"". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ "Ricci, il talento dell'Empoli che studia da campione. In campo e sui libri". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Empoli, gli occhi di mezza Serie a sul gioiello Samuele Ricci". Serie B (in Italian). 24 March 2020.
- ^ "Empoli calcio, Samuele Ricci positivo al COVID-19". Il Tirreno (in Italian). 12 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "S. Ricci". Soccerway.
- ^ "Ricci, Samuele" (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- ^ "Lukaku, Ronaldo and Conte win Serie A awards for 2020-21". Football Italia. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
External links
[edit]- Living people
- 2001 births
- Sportspeople from Pontedera
- Footballers from the Province of Pisa
- Italian men's footballers
- Men's association football midfielders
- Italy men's international footballers
- Italy men's under-21 international footballers
- Italy men's youth international footballers
- Empoli FC players
- Torino FC players
- AC Milan players
- Serie A players
- Serie B players
- 21st-century Italian sportsmen