Mattia Liberali is nineteen, moved from Milan to Como for a release clause reported at 6 million euros and on Saturday 22 August his season begins. Behind him are a European youth title, a full campaign as a starter in Serie B and a heavy comparison attached to him early. It is worth looking at what lies underneath.
The profile at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Player | Mattia Liberali |
| Born | 6 April 2007 in Carate Brianza (19) |
| Position | Attacking midfielder, also wide forward |
| Height | Between 169 and 172 cm according to public sources |
| Foot | Left |
| Club | Como (since July 2026), shirt number 30 |
| Contract | Listed until 2031 |
| Catanzaro 2025-26 | 29 league appearances and 4 goals, 5 play-off games and 1 goal |
| Youth international | Italy, from Under 15 to Under 20 |
A path built in the right order
Liberali joined Milan in 2015, aged eight, and stayed a decade. His first-team debut came on 15 December 2024 against Genoa, at seventeen. What followed traced exactly the two steps the Italian system offers, and traced them in the correct order.
First Milan Futuro, the second team: 8 league appearances, 2 in the cup with a goal. That is the protected context, where a player learns the professional trade without a defeat changing anyone’s season. Then Catanzaro, in Serie B: 29 league games with 4 goals, plus 5 play-off matches with a goal. Here the protection ends, and that is the real test.
With the youth national teams the path is complete: from Under 15 to Under 20, peaking with the Under 17 European title won in 2024 and selection in the team of the tournament.
What he does on the pitch
The position is attacking midfielder, and in his case it is not a generic label. He is a left-footed player of small stature, between 169 and 172 centimetres depending on the source, who lives on technical quality in tight spaces and on the ability to appear where the defence is not looking.
Players of this kind have a structural advantage and a structural limit, and both are worth naming. The advantage is the low centre of gravity: it allows faster changes of direction in minimal space and makes the ball hard to take off them in possession. The limit is that physical duels and aerial play stay outside their repertoire, and in a league where holding midfielders are well built that means having to receive away from pressure or already turned.
The left foot, in a central position, has a specific effect: it naturally opens the pass towards the right of the opposing defence and makes the curled shot from the opposite side easier. That is why players with these traits are often moved to the right flank, where cutting inside finds them the goal.
The comparison and what it is worth
Alessandro Costacurta compared him to Phil Foden, and in 2024 the Guardian included him in its list of the sixty best young players born in 2007. These are signs of attention and should be read as such: they say that those who watch young players spotted him early, they say nothing about what he will become.
Comparisons with established players are the least useful part of a scout report. They help the reader form an image, and they damage the player, because they fix an end point that becomes the yardstick for every mistake he makes at nineteen.
What the choice of Como says
The most interesting fact is not the comparison: it is that he chose Como over returning to Milan, who according to transfer reports had wanted him back. For a player who grew up at one club for ten years, turning down the return is a decision about minutes, not about affection.
Cesc Fabregas’s Como is an environment that has shown it gives space to technical profiles and builds from the back, and the number 30 shirt with a long contract points to a settled place in the squad rather than a peripheral figure. The season begins on Saturday 22 August against Udinese.
What to watch this year
For a nineteen-year-old attacking midfielder in his first Serie A season, goals are the least reliable indicator. Three other things are worth watching: how many minutes he actually plays in the first three months, how he reacts when opponents wait for him instead of pressing him, and whether the team creates situations for him to receive already turned or leaves him to collect the ball with his back to goal.
Serie B has already told him he can handle a season as a starter. Serie A will ask one more thing, the only one that cannot be trained in advance at that age: doing the same when the opponent already knows what he wants to do.
Data and information gathered from public sources: Wikipedia, official club communications, Italian sports press and statistical portals. The release clause figure is the one reported by the specialist press.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Mattia Liberali?
An Italian attacking midfielder born in Carate Brianza on 6 April 2007, left-footed. He came through Milan from 2015, made his first-team debut on 15 December 2024 against Genoa and has played for Como since July 2026.
How much did he cost Como?
The transfer went through with the payment of a release clause reported at 6 million euros. His contract with Como is listed until 2031 and he wears the number 30 shirt.
What were his numbers at Catanzaro?
In 2025-26 he made 29 league appearances with 4 goals, plus 5 play-off appearances with a goal. Before that he had played 8 league games and 2 cup games with a goal for Milan Futuro.
Has he won anything with Italy's youth teams?
Yes. He was Under 17 European champion in 2024 with Italy and was named in the team of the tournament. He has played for the national age groups from Under 15 to Under 20.
How tall is he?
Public sources disagree: the figures range from 169 to 172 centimetres. Either way he is a player of small stature, and that shapes the kind of footballer he is.
