 Acerbi playing forLazio in 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francesco Acerbi[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1988-02-10)10 February 1988 (age 38) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Vizzolo Predabissi, Italy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre-back | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Inter Milan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pavia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2010 | Pavia | 48 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | →Renate (loan) | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | →Spezia (loan) | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Reggina | 24 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Genoa | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | →Reggina (loan) | 16 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Chievo | 17 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | AC Milan | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Genoa | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | →Chievo (loan) | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2018 | Sassuolo | 157 | (11) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2023 | Lazio | 135 | (9) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | →Inter Milan (loan) | 31 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Inter Milan | 65 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014– | Italy | 34 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:06, 17 January 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 20 November 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Francesco AcerbiCavaliere OMRI (Italian pronunciation:[franˈtʃeskoaˈtʃɛrbi]; born 10 February 1988) is an Italian professionalfootballer who plays primarily as acentre-back forSerie A clubInter Milan and theItaly national team. He is known for his strength, hard-tackling and aerial ability.
Acerbi began his senior playing career with fifth-tierPavia in 2006 before signing withSerie B sideReggina in 2010: a year later, Acerbi joinedSerie A clubChievo, following a co-ownership transfer agreement involvingGenoa, for €2 million. After a brief period withAC Milan in 2012, Acerbi returned to Chievo on loan in 2013, following another co-ownership transfer agreement also involving Genoa. He then permanently signed for newly-promoted Serie A clubSassuolo but was ruled out of his debut season after being treated fortesticular cancer: he returned to playing in 2014.[3]
In 2018, Acerbi transferred toLazio, where he won theCoppa Italia andSupercoppa Italiana. In 2022, he joined Inter Milan, and has gone on to win one Serie A title, another Coppa Italia, two Supercoppas Italiana, and reached the2023 and2025UEFA Champions League final.
Acerbi played for the Italian national team on three occasions in friendly games before making his competitive debut in 2019. He has gone on to winUEFA Euro 2020.
Born inVizzolo Predabissi, Lombardy, Acerbi started his career at Lombard teamPavia, making his league debut on 23 April 2006.[4] He was then loaned toSerie D teamRenate on 11 January 2007[5] and played a club friendly on the same day.[6] He made his official debut on 28 January in a 0–0 draw withPalazzolo.[7] He returned to Pavia on 30 January[8] and played in the last round of2006–07 Serie C2.[9]
On 2 August, Acerbi was loaned toTriestina[10] then toSpezia on 16 August, though he only played for the latter'sprimavera under-20 team.[11] He returned to Pavia on 1 July and became a regular in the first-team. He played both legs of2009–10 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione promotion playoffs and finished as losing semi-finalists.[12][13] The team was promoted after some teams were expelled from the league due to financial problems.
Acerbi received a call-up to the pre-season camp ofSerie B teamReggina on 13 July[14] and theco-ownership deal completed on 16 July.[15] On 31 January 2011, Pavia sold the remain 50 percent registration rights to Reggina for an undisclosed fee, whereupon theCalabrian side formed another co-ownership deal withSerie A teamGenoa for €1 million.[16][17] Acerbi only missed two games in2010–11 Serie B and played both legs of promotion playoffs, losing to eventual playoff winnersNovara in the semi-final.[18][19] He played once during the2010–11 Coppa Italia, a match he was ultimately sent off in. He was suspended in the next cup match[20] and was not included in the third round.[21]
On 24 June 2011, Genoa purchased the remaining 50 percent of Acerbi's registration rights from Reggina for €2.2 million[16] and sentAntonino Ragusa the other direction. On 1 July 2011, Acerbi was sold to Chievo in aco-ownership deal for €2 million[16] as part of the deal that sawKévin Constant transferred to Genoa for €7.8 million, withIvan Fatić also returning to Chievo for €200,000 in June 2011.[16][22] Acerbi entered the starting XI in the second half of the season making 14 starts, partnering withMarco Andreolli in nine games,Dario Dainelli three games andBoštjan Cesar two games.
On 20 June 2012, Milan bought Chievo's 50 percent share of Acerbi, with Genoa retaining the remaining half of his registration rights. Co-currently, Milan signed Kévin Constant in temporary loan deal from Genoa.[23] In July 2012,Isaac Cofie joined Chievo from Genoa as part of financial compensation. Genoa revealed in the financial report of 2012 calendar year that Genoa repurchased 50 percent of the registration rights to Acerbi for €3.75 million and subsequently sold them to Milan for €4 million, whilst Cofie cost Chievo €1.5 million.[24] The deals effectively made Genoa a profit of €250,000, whilst Chievo received new compensation for Constant's price tag.
Acerbi debuted for Milan in its 3–1 win overBologna, though he failed to gain a stable place in starting line-up and left the club during the winter transfer window.
In 2019, Acerbi revealed that during his time in Milan he suffered fromdepression, grieving the death of his father, and often relied on alcohol to quell hisemotional pain.[25][26]
On 26 January 2013, Milan purchased 50 percent of the rights of Kévin Constant for €4 million.[27] Acerbi, as a part of the deal, moved to Genoa also for €4 million,[27] from where his previous club Chievo loaned him back for a €300,000 fee.[28] He made seven appearances in the second half of2012–13 Serie A.
On 9 July 2013,Sassuolo, recently promoted to the Serie A, purchasedhalf of Acerbi's playing rights for a €1.8 million fee.[28] the rest remained a property of Genoa.[29] During a pre-season medical, unusual blood tests revealed atesticular tumour, having surgery to remove the tumour.[30] Soon after having the tumour removed, he resumed training with his new teammates. Acerbi had taken part in 13 games of the2013–14 Serie A season before he failed adoping test in December 2013; he denied using any bannedperformance-enhancing drugs, and that it was due to irregular hormone levels caused by the return of the cancer.[30] He subsequently underwentchemotherapy from 7 January to 14 March 2014.[30] It was also reported that Acerbi did not miss the majority of training sessions during his cancer treatment period.[31] Despite this, his return to the pitch was postponed until the next season.
In June 2014, the co-ownership deal was renewed by Sassuolo.[32]
On 30 January 2015, Sassuolo purchased Acerbi outright for an additional €1.8 million fee.[33][34] On the same day Genoa acquiredLorenzo Ariaudo andLeonardo Pavoletti from Sassuolo on temporary deals for free.[33][35]
On 11 July 2018, Acerbi joinedLazio on a five-year contract.[36] He was set to catch up to the record of 162 consecutive Serie A appearances by an outfield player, held byJavier Zanetti. However, Acerbi's own personal record was stopped at 149 games due to a two-yellow-card suspension on 20 January 2019. His personal run started on 18 October 2015, when he was still a Sassuolo player.[37][38]
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On 1 September 2022, Acerbi moved on loan toInter Milan.[39] At Inter, he replaced outgoingAndrea Ranocchia and reunited with his former Lazio managerSimone Inzaghi. Initially regarded as rather a substitute, Acerbi once again became a regular starter as the season progressed.[40]
Acerbi was a starter in the2023 UEFA Champions League final where he was praised for shutting downManchester City'sErling Haaland from scoring, although Inter ultimately lost 1–0.[41][42]
On 7 July 2023, Inter exercised his buy option clause and signed Acerbi permanently.[43] On 22 April 2024, he scored a header in a 2–1 win over his former club AC Milan, securing his first Serie A title with Inter in the2023–24 season with five matches remaining.[44]
On 6 May 2025, Acerbi scored his first-ever UEFA Champions League goal, a 93rd-minute equalizer with his weak foot againstBarcelona in the second leg of the semifinals, to level the aggregate score at 6–6 in an eventual victory in extra-time, securing qualification for their secondfinal in three years.[45] In doing so at the age of 37 years and 85 days, he became the second oldest goalscorer in a UCL semifinal, only behindRyan Giggs in 2011 (37 years and 148 days).[46]
Acerbi has been capped once for theItaly under-20 Lega Pro representative team at the first match of 2008–09 Mirop Cup, losing toHungary.[47]
On 10 August 2012, Acerbi received his firstsenior team call-up fromCesare Prandelli.[48] He made his senior debut for Italy underAntonio Conte, on 18 November 2014, in a 1–0 friendly win overAlbania inGenoa, playing the full 90 minutes.[49]
He played his first competitive match for Italy underRoberto Mancini, on 8 September 2019, in a 2–1 away win overFinland in aEuro 2020 qualifier.[50] His first senior goal for Italy came on 15 November, in a 3–0 away win overBosnia and Herzegovina, in a Euro 2020 qualifier.[51]
In June 2021, Acerbi was included in Italy's squad forUEFA Euro 2020.[52] In Italy's second group match againstSwitzerland in Rome on 16 June, Acerbi made his first appearance of the tournament, coming on for the injuredGiorgio Chiellini in the first half of an eventual 3–0 victory, which allowed his side to advance to the knock-out stages.[53] On 26 June, he started and assisted the match-winning goal, scored byMatteo Pessina, in extra-time of a 2–1 win overAustria in the round of 16.[54] On 11 July, Acerbi 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.[55]
On 23 May 2024, he was named in the 30-man preliminary squad for theUEFA Euro 2024.[56] However, he sustained a groin injury which would force him to miss the tournament.[57]
A hard-tackling and physically imposing left-footed defender, with good technique and ball-playing ability on the ground, Acerbi is considered to be one of the best Serie A and Italian defenders in circulation. He often plays as a left–sided centre-back in either a three or four–man back–line, and is known for his defensive consistency, charismatic personality, and leadership as a footballer, as well as his ability to carry the ball out from the back. A tall and physically powerful centre-back, although he lacks significant pace, his strength, reading of the game, and timing allows him to excel in physical duels with his opponents, while his height and heading ability also make him effective in winning aerial challenges, and also allow him to contribute offensively to his team with additional goals.[58][59][60][61]
Since 2020 he has been linked to Claudia Scarpari, with whom he has two daughters, Vittoria (born in 2021)[62] and Nala (born in 2023).[63] The couple married in early 2025 inCassina Rizzardi.[64]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Pavia | 2005–06 | Serie C1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2008–09 | Lega Pro Seconda Divisione | 22 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 2 | |||
| 2009–10 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 27 | 1 | |||
| Total | 48 | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 56 | 3 | |||
| Renate (loan) | 2006–07 | Serie D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Reggina | 2010–11 | Serie B | 40 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 43 | 2 | |
| Chievo | 2011–12 | Serie A | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||
| Milan | 2012–13 | Serie A | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |
| Chievo (loan) | 2012–13 | Serie A | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| Sassuolo | 2013–14 | Serie A | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 3 | ||||
| 2015–16 | 36 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 4 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 38 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 10[d] | 0 | — | 49 | 4 | |||
| 2017–18 | 38 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 157 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | 173 | 11 | |||
| Lazio | 2018–19 | Serie A | 37 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 8[d] | 0 | — | 50 | 3 | |
| 2019–20 | 36 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 45 | 2 | ||
| 2020–21 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8[c] | 0 | — | 42 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | — | 36 | 4 | |||
| Total | 135 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 173 | 10 | ||
| Inter Milan (loan) | 2022–23 | Serie A | 31 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 12[c] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 49 | 1 |
| Inter Milan | 2023–24 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6[c] | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | 38 | 3 | |
| 2024–25 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9[c] | 1 | 2[f] | 0 | 35 | 1 | ||
| 2025–26 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Inter total | 96 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 31 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 140 | 5 | ||
| Career total | 507 | 29 | 35 | 2 | 71 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 623 | 32 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2014 | 1 | 0 |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 34 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 November 2019 | Bilino Polje Stadium,Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
Lazio[65]
Inter Milan
Italy
Individual
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| International | |
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| National | |
