Who is Riccardo Calafiori? Meet Italy's rising star at Euro 2024 who has been linked with Liverpool and Juventus
Riccardo Calafiori is the 22-year-old centre-back who started Italy's UEFA Euro 2024 opener against Albania on January 15 and is linked with a move to Liverpool and Juventus. The journey to achieving his third cap for the country has been a hard-fought one. Calafiori, who is currently contracted by Serie A side Bologna, was faced with incredibly tough situations on the fitness front.
While coming through the youth system at Roma, the youngster suffered a terrible knee injury that was career-threatening. Calafiori was only 16 years old at the time and was sidelined for 347 days as he regained full fitness.
After coming out of a shocking injury, the defender was sold to Basel in the summer of 2022 for a reported €2.6 million. He managed to become a key component of the team's defense in the 2022/23 season, starting 21 matches in the league.
With Calafiori seemingly having reignited his career, the centre-back returned to Italy and joined Bologna in 2023. After a season that has seen him make 37 appearances across competitions for his current employers, bagging two goals, he is now linked with a big move away.
According to reports, several clubs are looking to sign the Italian, including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. Other clubs, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, and Napoli, have also been credited with interest in the defender (via Football London).
For now, Calafiori will be focused on going deep into Euro 2024 with Italy. They next play Spain in a group game on Thursday (June 20).
Fabrizio Romano provides update on Liverpool and Juventus target Riccardo Calafiori's future
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano believes Riccardo Calafiori is more than happy to join Juventus this summer, which would be a bitter blow to Liverpool. However, the situation seems to be more complicated.
With Thiago Motta having agreed to join Juventus from Bologna, it is said that the situation between these clubs is quite tense. Speaking to PlayBack, Romano said (via Rousing the Kop):
"He already agreed on personal terms weeks ago but between Juventus and Bologna the situation is complicated. Bologna were not so happy with how Thiago Motta joined Juventus so the situation is quite tense between the two clubs."
With the situation as it stands, other interested clubs like Liverpool could potentially get a deal done for the defender. Currently, Calafiori is contracted with Bologna till the summer of 2027.