.jpg) Meret in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alex Meret[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1997-03-22)22 March 1997 (age 28) | ||
| Place of birth | Udine, Italy[2] | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Napoli | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2012 | Donatello Calcio[4] | ||
| 2012–2015 | Udinese | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2018 | Udinese | 0 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | →SPAL (loan) | 30 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | →SPAL (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2018– | Napoli | 168 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012–2013 | Italy U16 | 4 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Italy U17 | 13 | (0) |
| 2014 | Italy U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2014–2016 | Italy U19 | 19 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Italy U21 | 5 | (0) |
| 2019– | Italy | 3 | (0) |
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:26, 28 September 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 16 November 2022 | |||
Alex MeretCavaliere OMRI (Italian pronunciation:[ˈaːleksmeˈrɛt]; born 22 March 1997) is an Italian professionalfootballer who plays as agoalkeeper forSerie A clubNapoli and theItaly national team.
Born inUdine, Meret began his career at an early age with amateur club Donatello Calcio before making a switch to the famousUdinese youth system in 2012. After rising through the academy system at the club, he made his senior debut in 2015. He later had spells on loan withSPAL, whom he helped win the Serie B title in 2017, and achieve promotion to Serie A. He joined Napoli in 2018, winning a league title in2023 and2025.
At international level, Meret has represented Italy atU16,U17,U18,U19 andU21 levels, and made hissenior debut for Italy in 2019, also representing the nation at their victoriousUEFA Euro 2020 campaign.
AnUdinese youth product, Meret was promoted to the first team as second-choice goalkeeper behindOrestis Karnezis during the 2015–16 season. He made his senior professional debut on 2 December 2015 in theCoppa Italia againstAtalanta.[5]
In July 2016, Meret was sent on loan toSerie B clubSPAL.[6] He returned to SPAL on loan for the2017–18 season.[7]
On 5 July 2018, Meret signed withNapoli until 30 June 2023. The transfer fee agreed with Udinese was reported as €35 million.[8][9] He made his European debut on 14 February 2019, in a 3–1 away win overFC Zürich in the first leg of the round of 32 of theEuropa League.[10][11]
During his first two seasons with Napoli, he was frequently used in a rotational role alongsideDavid Ospina. However, under the club's new managerGennaro Gattuso, he found himself relegated to the bench until the season break due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The coach favoured the Colombian shot-stopper due to his superior ability with the ball at his feet.[12][13] Following a suspension to Ospina, Meret started in the2020 Coppa Italia Final againstJuventus on 17 June. After a goalless draw in regulation time, Meret savedPaulo Dybala's spot kick, contributing to his team's 4–2 penalty shoot-out victory.[14] Subsequently, Meret found himself back in rotation with Ospina, starting about half of the matches until the end of the season. This rotational role continued into the following2020–21 season, with Ospina and Meret alternating every other match in the Europa League, Serie A, and Coppa Italia.[15] However, in the next season, Meret assumed the role as the second goalkeeper in the league for the majority of the season under the new coachLuciano Spalletti. He was the first-choice keeper in theUEFA Europa League and theCoppa Italia.
In the subsequent2022–23 season, Meret regained the role as the starting goalkeeper for Napoli after Ospina departed the club. He played the majority of the games in Serie A and the Champions League, playing a crucial role in winning the first scudetto in 33 years and reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League.[16]
Meret was a crucial member in theItaly U19 national team which took part in the2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, finishing as runner-up after losing in the final; he was named in the team of the tournament alongsideKylian Mbappé of France.[17][18]
In March 2017, following impressive performances for SPAL in Serie B, he was called up to theItaly national team squad for theWorld Cup qualification for a match againstAlbania and afriendly against theNetherlands.[19]
On 22 March 2018, he made his debut with theItaly U21, playing as starter in a friendly match againstNorway.[20]
He took part in the2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship under managerLuigi Di Biagio,[21] as the team's first-choice goalkeeper.
Meret made his international debut for the senior national team under managerRoberto Mancini, on 18 November 2019, coming on as a substitute forSalvatore Sirigu in a 9–1 home win overArmenia, in Italy's finalEuro 2020 qualifier.[22]
In June 2021, he was included in Italy's squad forUEFA Euro 2020.[23] On 11 July, Meret won the European Championship with Italy following a 3–2penalty shoot-out victory overEngland atWembley Stadium in thefinal, after a 1–1 draw inextra-time.[24] He was the only squad member not to make an appearance in the competition.[25]
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Considered once to be a talented and highly promising young goalkeeper in the Italian media,[26] Meret is an agile goalkeeper, who possesses good reactions and shot-stopping abilities, despite his height and imposing physique, and who is known for his handling and ability to rush off his line. He has also drawn praise in the media for his decision–making, maturity, and calm composure under pressure, as well as his discipline and work ethic, despite his youth; moreover, he is capable of organising his defence effectively and is known for his penalty–stopping abilities. Although he is competent with his feet, his distribution has been cited as an area in need of improvement.[26][27][28][29][30] He has also struggled with physical problems and injuries throughout his career.[12]
| Club | Season | League | Coppa Italia | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Udinese | 2015–16 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| SPAL (loan) | 2016–17 | Serie B | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Serie A | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| Total | 43 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 45 | 0 | ||||
| Napoli | 2018–19 | Serie A | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6[a] | 0 | — | 21 | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | Serie A | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6[b] | 0 | — | 29 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Serie A | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | Serie A | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7[a] | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10[b] | 0 | — | 45 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Serie A | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 0 | |
| 2024–25 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | |||
| 2025–26 | Serie A | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 168 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 216 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 211 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 263 | 0 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
SPAL[33]
Napoli[32]
Italy U19
Italy
Individual
Orders
Italy squads | |||||||||||||
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