Valentín Carboni (born 5 March 2005) is an Argentine professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for club

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

and the Argentina national team.

Club career

Early years

Born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, in his early childhood Carboni played

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

at the grassroots team Club Lafuente in

Lanús Lanús () is the capital of Lanús Partido, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. It lies just south of the capital city Buenos Aires, in the Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, metropolitan area. The List of cities in Argentina, city has a populati ...

; in 2013, aged eight, he started playing

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

by joining the youth academy of

. In July 2019, Carboni joined the youth sector of Italian side

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

, together with his older brother

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...

and his father Ezequiel, who had just taken on a double role as youth coach and head of youth development at the club.

Inter Milan

2020–2022: youth sector

One year later, after having attracted the interest of several high-profile European clubs, the midfielder and his brother both joined

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

club

, for an estimated

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

300,000 transfer fee. Carboni quickly came through the ''Nerazzurri'''s youth ranks, establishing himself as part of the under-19 squad since the start of the 2021–22 season, and helping the aforementioned team win the under-19 national championship in 2022.

2022–23 season: first team debut

At the start of the 2022–23 campaign, while keeping featuring for the Primavera squad in the national league and in the

UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the under-19 teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions Le ...

, Carboni started training with Inter Milan's first team under head coach

Simone Inzaghi Simone Inzaghi (; born 5 April 1976) is an Italian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal. Nicknamed "''Il demone di Piacenza''" ("The Piacenza Demon") because of his ...

. The midfielder subsequently made his professional debut on 1 October 2022, at 17 years and 206 days, coming on as a substitute for

Federico Dimarco Federico Dimarco (born 10 November 1997) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a left wing-back or left back for Serie A club Inter Milan and the Italy national team. He is known for his pace, crossing, and threatening goal-scoring ...

in the 88th minute of a 2–1 league loss against

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

. Then, on 1 November, he made his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

debut, replacing Joaquín Correa in the 76th minute of a 2–0

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

loss against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

. In July 2023, Carboni signed a new long-term contract with Inter Milan.

2023–24 season: loan to Monza

On 15 July 2023, Carboni officially joined fellow Serie A club

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

on a season-long loan. On 1 December, he scored his first professional goal in a 2–1 home

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

defeat to

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

2024–25 season: loan to Marseille and ACL injury

On 7 August 2024, Carboni joined French side

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional Association football, football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top f ...

on a season-long loan, with an option to buy and a counter-option in favour of Inter. In October 2024, during the international break, Carboni suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, ruling him out for a lengthy period of time. On 11 February 2025, Carboni's loan move was terminated early to continue his rehabilitation process with the ''Nerazzurri'' in preparation for the

2025 FIFA Club World Cup The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, also marketed as FIFA Club World Cup 25) is the 21st edition and the first of the expanded FIFA Club World Cup, an international club soccer competition organized ...

International career

Thanks to his

dual citizenship Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...

, Carboni is eligible to represent both Italy and Argentina at international level.

Italy youth

In 2019, he was involved in several training camps with the Italian under-15 national team; then, he proceeded to play for the Italian under-17 national team between 2021 and 2022.

Argentina youth

In March 2022, he switched allegiance to Argentina and received his first official call-up to the Argentine senior national team, having been included in the preliminary list for the

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the FIFA World Cup qualification, qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar national football team, Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Par ...

matches against

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. In May 2022, he was included by head coach

Javier Mascherano Javier Alejandro Mascherano (; born 8 June 1984) is an Argentine Association football, football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. As a player, he played as a centre-back or defensive ...

in the Argentine under-20 squad that took part in the

Maurice Revello Tournament The Maurice Revello Tournament (officially French: the ''Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello''), previously known as the Toulon Tournament, is a football tournament, which traditionally features invited national teams comp ...

in France, as the ''Albiceleste'' eventually finished in fifth place, after winning the play-off match against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. In October 2022, he was included by head coach Lionel Scaloni in Argentina's preliminary squad for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

in Qatar, although he did not make the cut to the final 26-men list. In March 2023, he was called up again to the Argentina senior national team for two friendly matches against

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

. In May of the same year, he was included in the final squad for the

2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 23rd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth Association football, football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since i ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. On the debut on 20 May he scored his first goal in a 2–1 victory against

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

Argentina senior

Carboni made his debut for the senior Argentina national team on 26 March 2024 in a friendly against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, substituting

Ángel Di María Ángel Fabián Di María (; born 14 February 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Primeira Liga club Benfica. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Argentine players of all time and one of the best pl ...

in the 82nd minute. In June 2024, and with only two matches played with Argentina senior team, Carboni was included in Lionel Scaloni's final 26-man Argentina squad for the

2024 Copa América The 2024 Copa América was the 48th edition of the Copa América, the quadrennial international men's association football, soccer championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament was held in the United Sta ...

Style of play

Carboni is a left-footed

who mainly operates in the '' number 10'' role, but can also play as a

centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

, an inverted winger on the right side, or a ''

mezzala In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

''. An elegant, composed, and creative player, he frequently moves between his team's attacking lines, whether he keeps possession with his ball control, finds team-mates via through passes or first-touch combinations, or directly goes for the shot from short or long range. Despite being mainly regarded for his offensive contributions, thanks to his vision, his individual technique, and his dribbling skills, he has proved to be effective in the defensive side of his game, as well, especially because of his work rate. He named his fellow countryman

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

as his biggest source of inspiration. In September 2022, Carboni was included in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'''s list of the 60 best talents in the world to be born in 2005.

Personal life

Carboni is the son of former Argentine footballer Ezequiel Carboni. His older brother

(born 2003) is a footballer himself: the two played together in the youth sectors of

and

. He also has two younger siblings, Cristiano (born 2009) and Alma (born 2016).

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Inter Milan U19 *

Campionato Primavera 1 Campionato Primavera 1, known also as Campionato Primavera 1 TIM – Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti due to sponsorship and posthumous honour, is an Italian football youth competition. It was created in 2017–18 season by splitting Campionato Nazion ...

: 2021–22 Inter Milan *

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

: 2022–23 *

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

runner-up: 2022–23 Argentina *

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

References

External links

Profile
at the Inter Milan website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carboni, Valentin 2005 births Living people Footballers from Buenos Aires Argentine men's footballers Argentina men's youth international footballers Argentina men's international footballers Italian men's footballers Italy men's youth international footballers Argentine sportspeople of Italian descent Italian sportspeople of Argentine descent Men's association football midfielders Serie A players Club Atlético Lanús footballers Catania FC players Inter Milan players AC Monza players Olympique de Marseille players Argentine expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in France Argentine expatriate sportspeople in France 2024 Copa América players Copa América–winning players 21st-century Italian sportsmen 21st-century Argentine sportsmen