Marco Palestra

Marco Palestra
Personal information
Date of birth (2005-03-03) 3 March 2005
Place of birth Buccinasco, Italy
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Chelsea
Number 2
Youth career
2010–2014 GS Assago
2014–2015 Inter Milan
2014–2023 Atalanta
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023–2024 Atalanta U23 40 (3)
2023–2026 Atalanta 9 (0)
2025–2026 → Cagliari (loan) 37 (1)
2026– Chelsea 0 (0)
International career‡
2023–2024 Italy U19 9 (1)
2024 Italy U20 2 (0)
2024– Italy U21 8 (0)
2026– Italy 2 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:48, 25 May 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:04, 31 March 2026 (UTC)

Marco Palestra (born 3 March 2005) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a right-back or right wing-back for Premier League club Chelsea and the Italy national team.

Club career

Palestra began playing football with GS Assago where he stayed four years, had a year long stint with Inter Milan's academy before finally finishing his development with Atalanta's academy starting in 2014. Originally a central midfielder, at U17 level he was converted to a winger and then a right-back.[1] He was promoted to the newly created Atalanta U23's in their debut season in the 2023–24 Serie C.[2] He made his senior and professional debut with the senior Atalanta team as a substitute in a 4–0 UEFA Europa League win over Raków Częstochowa on 14 December 2023.[3] He was loaned to fellow Serie A club Cagliari for the 2025–26 season.[4] On 24 January 2026, he scored his first Serie A goal and provided an assist in a 2–1 away victory over Fiorentina.[5]

Palestra signed a seven-year contract with Premier League club Chelsea on 1 July 2026, for an initial transfer fee worth approximately £43 million, with a further £5 million available in performance-related add-ons.[6]

International career

Palestra is a youth international for Italy. In September 2023, he was called up to the Italy U18s for a set of friendlies.[7] In November 2023 he was called up to the Italy U19s for a set of 2024 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification matches.[8]

In March 2026, he was called up to the senior Italy team for the first time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification play-offs. He made his debut on 26 March in a 2–0 win over Northern Ireland in the play-off semi-finals. He also played in the play-off final against Bosnia, which Italy lost on penalties and resulted in them failing to qualify for a third successive World Cup.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 24 May 2026[9]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Atalanta U23 2023–24 Serie C 40310———413
Atalanta 2023–24 Serie A 0000—1[c]0—10
2024–25 Serie A 9010—3[d]02[e]0150
Total 9010—4020160
Cagliari (loan) 2025–26 Serie A 37100———371
Chelsea 2026–27 Premier League 000000——00
Career total 86420004020944
  1. ↑ Includes Coppa Italia, FA Cup
  2. ↑ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ↑ Appearance in UEFA Europa League
  4. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. ↑ One appearance in UEFA Super Cup, one appearance in Supercoppa Italiana

International

As of match played 31 March 2026[10]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Italy 202620
Total20

Honours

Atalanta

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Chi è Marco Palestra, il classe 2005 convocato da Gasperini contro la Juve". Atalantini.com. 6 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "Dalla Primavera 1 alla Serie C: Marco Palestra convince sempre di più". La Giovane Italia News.
  3. ↑ "Raków Czestochow 0-4 Atalanta: results, summary and goals". AS.com. 14 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "Marco Palestra loaned to Cagliari". Atalanta BC. 26 August 2025.
  5. ↑ "Fiorentina 1–2 Cagliari". ESPN. 24 January 2026.
  6. ↑ Millar, Colin (1 July 2026). "Chelsea complete Marco Palestra transfer from Atalanta on seven-year contract". The New York Times.
  7. ↑ "Marco Palestra nell'Italia U18 - Zonamista Magazine". 15 September 2022.
  8. ↑ "Il cammino dei campioni d'Europa parte dalla Svezia: i 20 Azzurrini scelti da Bernardo Corradi". Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio. 10 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "Marco Palestra". Soccerway. 8 February 2026.
  10. ↑ Marco Palestra at National-Football-Teams.com
  11. ↑ "Atalanta 3–0 Leverkusen: Lookman treble brings UEFA Europa League glory to Bergamo". Union of European Football Associations. 22 May 2024. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  12. ↑ "The MVPs of the Serie A 2025/2026". Serie A. 22 May 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "EA Sports FC 26 – Serie A Team of the Season". Serie A. 17 May 2026. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
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