 Tonali playing forItaly in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sandro Tonali[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (2000-05-08)8 May 2000 (age 25) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Lodi, Italy | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Newcastle United | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 8 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2012 | Piacenza | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2017 | Brescia | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2021 | Brescia | 88 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | →AC Milan (loan) | 25 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | AC Milan | 70 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Newcastle United | 56 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Italy U19 | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2023 | Italy U21 | 14 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019– | Italy | 30 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:44, 22 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 13 November 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
Sandro Tonali (Italian pronunciation:[ˈsandrotoˈnaːli]; born 8 May 2000) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as amidfielder forPremier League clubNewcastle United and theItaly national team.
He began his professional career atBrescia, winningSerie B in2018–19. A year later he moved toMilan, initially on loan. He played 130 total games for Milan, and wonSerie A in2021–22. In 2023 he signed for Newcastle for a reported fee of €70 million, making him the most expensive Italian footballer of all time.
Tonali made his professional debut forBrescia Calcio on 26 August 2017, aged 17, coming on as a substitute in theSerie B away match lost 2–1 againstAvellino.[3] On 28 April 2018 he scored his first professional career goal, in a 4–2 defeat againstSalernitana in Serie B.[4] He obtained 19 league appearances in total during his first season as a professional player, scoring two goals and providing two assists during the2017–18 Serie B season.[5]
The following season, Tonali won theSerie B title with Brescia, and achieved promotion to Serie A, featuring as a starter for the club throughout the entire 2018–19 season.[6]
He made his Serie A debut on 25 August 2019, aged 19, in a 1–0 away win againstCagliari.[7] On 29 September, he assistedMario Balotelli's goal from a corner kick in a 2–1 away loss toNapoli; he also scored a goal during the match with a powerful shot from outside the area, which was disallowed byVAR, however, for a foul by Brescia'sDimitri Bisoli on Napoli'sNikola Maksimović.[8] He scored his first Serie A goal on 26 October, netting a long-rangefree kick into the top corner from the left flank, which was the opening goal in an eventual 3–1 away defeat toGenoa.[9][10]
On 9 September 2020, Tonali joinedAC Milan,[11][12] on a season-long loan for €10 million with an option to buy for €15 million, plus bonuses worth €10 million.[13] The player will earn a yearly wage of €2 million for five years.[13] Three days later, he made his non-competitive debut in a friendly atMilanello against his previous club.[14]
Tonali made his competitive debut for Milan on 17 September 2020, coming on as a substitute in the 83rd minute in a 2–0 victory againstShamrock Rovers FC in the second round of Europa League qualifying. He made his Serie A debut for Milan on 21 September 2020, coming off the bench in the 77th minute in a 2–0 victory overBologna FC 1909 at theSan Siro. Tonali finished the season with 37 appearances, 23 of those in the starting eleven.
On 8 July 2021, Milan officially purchased Tonali's rights from Brescia and he signed a five-year contract with the club.[15] He took a pay-cut to secure his childhood dream move to Milan and was praised by the fans on social media for this gesture.[16]
Tonali scored his first goal with Milan's shirt on 29 August 2021 against Cagliari, a free kick that opened the scoresheet in eventual 4–1 win.[17] On 3 October atGewiss Stadium against Atalanta, Tonali dispossessed the ball fromRemo Freuler and ran to the opponents box to score the second goal in eventual 3–2 victory for Milan.[18] On 25 February 2022, TonaliassistedRafael Leão's goal against Udinese, becoming the youngest midfielder to have scored more than one goal (two) and delivered more than one assist (two) in Serie A that season.[19]
On 24 April as the match againstLazio was heading to 1–1 draw, Tonali scored the winner in the stoppage time, securing the lead for his team in Serie A table.[20] On 8 May 2022, his 22nd birthday, Tonali scored an equalising and a winning goal in the 3–1 away Serie A victory againstHellas Verona.[21] The comeback victory brought Milan back on top of the Serie A following Inter's 48-hour stay there in a close championship race. Tonali is also the youngest midfielder to have scored five or more goals in Serie A that season (and the second-youngest among all players, older only than Bologna'sAaron Hickey).[22] After 3–0 away win againstSassuolo on 22 May, Milan secured their first Scudetto in 11 years, In total, Tonali played 36 games in the campaign, scoring 5 goals and providing 3 assists.
Tonali's performance that season brought the attention and praise of renowned Italian football pundits, the likes ofPaolo Di Canio,Roberto Donadoni andFabio Capello, the latter went on to state that Tonali would have found a place in even the greatest of Milan's generation in the past.[23][24]
On 3 July 2023,Premier League clubNewcastle United announced the signing of Tonali on a five-year contract, for an undisclosed fee.[25][26] Reported to be around €70 million, this made Tonali the most expensive Italian player of all time.[27]
On 18 July, he made his debut for Newcastle inAllan McGregor's testimonial match againstRangers.[28] On 12 August, he scored the opening goal on his Premier League debut in a 5–1 win overAston Villa.[29]
On 18 October 2023, Newcastle announced Tonali was being investigated by the Italian Prosecutor's Office and theItalian Football Federation for alleged illegal betting activity.[30] On 26 October, he was banned from playing football for 10 months for breaching Italian betting regulations. This included eight months in gambling rehabilitation. This meant he would miss the rest of the2023–24 season andUEFA Euro 2024.[31][32] In March 2024, he was charged with misconduct in relation to alleged breaches of theFootball Association's betting rules. The FA alleged that Tonali broke rules by placing bets on matches between 12 August and 12 October 2023.[33] He was handed an additional two-month suspended ban by the FA for these breaches in May 2024, though he was allowed to return to football in August on the condition that no further breaches were made during the 2024–25 season.[34]
On 28 August 2024, after serving his suspension, Tonali made his first appearance since October the previous year, playing 61 minutes of a 1–1 draw againstNottingham Forest in the third round of theEFL Cup.[35] Four days later, he made his Premier League return, appearing as a 68th minute substitute forSean Longstaff in a 2–1 win overTottenham Hotspur.[36]
On 16 March 2025, Tonali became part of the first Newcastle United side to win a major domestic trophy in 70 years when he played the full 90 minutes in the2025 EFL Cup final.[37] Tonali had scored two goals in the quarter-final againstBrentford to help the club reach the final.[38]
In October 2025, it was reported that Tonali had signed a contract extension with Newcastle United during his betting ban, extending his deal until 2029 with an option for a further year to 2030.[39]
.jpg)
With theItaly U19 team, Tonali took part in the2018 European Under-19 Championship, reaching the final of the tournament, where Italy lost 4–3 afterextra time againstPortugal.[40] On 21 March 2019, he made his debut with theItaly U21 in a goallessfriendly draw againstAustria inTrieste.[41] Tonali took part in the2019 European Under-21 Championship.[42]
In November 2018, Tonali received his first call-up to theItalian senior squad by managerRoberto Mancini.[43] On 10 October 2019, after appearing for the Italy U21 team in a goalless draw againstIreland in aEuropean qualifier, he was called up to the Italy senior squad once again the following day for the team'sEuro 2020 qualifiers againstGreece andLiechtenstein.[44]
Tonali made his senior international debut on 15 October 2019, coming on as a substitute in the 5–0 away victory against Liechtenstein inVaduz.[45] On 15 November, he started for the team in a 3–0 away victory againstBosnia and Herzegovina of the same tournament.[46]
Regarded as a promising young Italian player in his position by the media, Tonali has been described by pundits as aregista,[47] although he is a versatile midfielder, who is capable of playing in several roles.[48] In his youth, he was often likened toAndrea Pirlo – who also started his career withBrescia – in terms of his movement, coordination, appearance, technical qualities, position, and playing style.[5][6][49][50] A strong, fast, energetic, elegant, and creativemidfielder, with excellent vision and an ability to read the game,[51] Tonali usually plays in acentral ordefensive midfield role as adeep-lyingplaymaker in a4–3–3 formation,[52][53][54] Dictating play for Brescia with his passing in midfield, he set up two goals and scored two himself in his 19 appearances in Serie B during the 2017–18 season.[5][55][49] Although naturally right-footed, he is known for his accurate long passing ability with either foot.[51] Moreover, he is also adept at takingset-pieces.[56] His tenacity and defensive contribution also allow him to play as abox-to-box midfielder, while his creativity, ability to find space, make late runs, and his penchant for driving forward with the ball even saw him deployed in a moreadvanced role on occasion at Milan under managerStefano Pioli, namely as amezzala.[57][58]
In addition to Pirlo, Tonali has also citedSteven Gerrard andLuka Modrić as influences, and has also compared his own playing style to that ofGennaro Gattuso.[59] In July 2019, he was named byUEFA as one of the 50 promising young players to watch for the 2019–20 season.[60]
Tonali has been anAC Milan fan since childhood.[61][62]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brescia | 2017–18 | Serie B | 19 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 2 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Serie B | 34 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 34 | 3 | |||||
| 2019–20 | Serie A | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 36 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 88 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | 89 | 6 | |||||||
| AC Milan (loan) | 2020–21 | Serie A | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 11[c] | 0 | — | 37 | 0 | ||
| AC Milan | 2021–22 | Serie A | 36 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | 6[d] | 0 | — | 45 | 5 | ||
| 2022–23 | Serie A | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 12[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 48 | 2 | ||
| Milan total | 95 | 7 | 5 | 0 | — | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 130 | 7 | |||
| Newcastle United | 2023–24 | Premier League | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | — | 12 | 1 | |
| 2024–25 | Premier League | 36 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2 | — | — | 45 | 6 | |||
| 2025–26 | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | ||
| Total | 56 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | 74 | 7 | |||
| Career total | 239 | 18 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 293 | 20 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2019 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 9 | 2 | |
| Total | 30 | 3 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 November 2024 | King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium | 20 |  Belgium | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A |
| 2 | 20 March 2025 | San Siro, Milan, Italy | 22 |  Germany | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A |
| 3 | 8 September 2025 | Nagyerdei Stadion, Debrecen, Hungary | 27 |  Israel | 5–4 | 5–4 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Brescia
AC Milan
Newcastle United
Italy U19
Individual
wfnat was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).
