Top facts about Manuel Locatelli, Juventus new loan signing

The Italian professional footballer currently features for Serie A club Juventus, on loan from Serie A club Sassuolo, and the Italy national team, in the position of midfielder.

The 23-year-old has just recently joined on an initial two-year loan, with

with an obligation to then purchase him for €25 million in addition to €12.5 million in potential add-ons, following that many big clubs had set their sites on absorbing him this summer window.

But even before that, the young midfielder has turned into a rising star, following his breakthrough season with A club Sassuolo under the management of Roberto De Zebri at Sassuolo.

Therefore in the light of his play out from the back under pressure, quick passes, exceptional passing range and spatial awareness, it was no wonder to see his dazzling displays for Italy in the Euro 2020 group stages.

As one of the top facts Manuel Locatelli, it is notable to indicate that he joined Atalanta just at age of 9 years old and later went on to win the 2016 Supercoppa Italiana and racked up 99 appearances and 7 goals for AC Milan until he joined Sassuolo in 2018.

But back in his youth career in Milan, his playing style drew a lot of resemblance to his idol, the Italian legend

, and therefore earned the nickname of “the new Pirlo”. With his recent remarkable feats for Italy, he utterly evokes indelible memories of Pirlo suiting up for the Azzurri.

Top facts about Manuel Locatelli, Juventus new loan signing

Read on some of the most interesting Top facts about Manuel Locatelli.

Manual Locatelli facts in brief

Bio

• Full names

  : Manuel Locatelli

• Nickname

  : New Pirlo and Loca

General information

• Date of birth

  : 8th day of January 1998

• Place of birth

  : Lecco, Italy

• Age

  : 23 years 

• Zodiac sign

  : Capricorn

• Religion

  : Christianity (Catholic)

• Nationality

  : Italian

Personal life

• Parents

  : Simona Locatelli (Mother) and Emanuele Locatelli (Father)

• Siblings

  : Mattia Locatelli (Brother)and Martina Locatelli (Sister)

• Marital status

  : unmarried

• Girlfriend/wife to be

  : Thessa Lacovich

• Education

  : U.S.D. Olginatese, Atalanta and AC Milan Academies

Physical status

• Hair colour

  : Regular brown

• Eye colour

  : Brown

• Height

  : 186 cm, or 6 feet 1

• Weight

  : 78 kilo

Football information

• Profession

  : footballer

• Position

  : Defensive midfield

• Net worth (2021):

  5 Million Euros

• Current/highest market value

  : €35.00m

• Current club:

  Juventus loan from Sassuolo

Manuel Locatelli childhood and family

Hailing from the city of Lecco, Italy, Manuel Locatelli is the last born child out of three children (an elder brother and sister) of his mother Simona Locatelli and father, Emanuele Locatelli.

Being raised in a devoted Catholic family, Manuel Locatelli's parents, laid the foundation of their sons' dream, as they made them play football in a local soccer field of a Catholic chapel, in an Oratory, located in the town of Pesca.

So they learnt football in the Pescate, a place where offered them the best fields for playing local football and was just six minutes away from the heart of Lecco city, where his family lived.

Moreover, during

Manuel Locatelli childhood

, it was his father, Emanuele Locatelli that introduced him and his brother, Mattia to the beautiful game of football.

That is to say, his father was their football coach at their time in the school in Pescate and this means that all the males of Manuel Locatelli’s family are into soccer.

While Manuel made himself distinguishable among others, he was picked by the Olginatese, an Italian association football team based in Olginate, and then his father left coaching and became a banker.

Afterwards, Manuel went on to make impressive feats at the Olginatese football school, featuring for them as an attacking midfielder between 2003 and 2005.

Following their victory in the Epiphany Tournament, the eyes of many top Scouts from big Italian teams of

were attracted to him.

One of these scouts was Paolo Rota from Atalanta BC who discovered Manuel because he also lived in Locco and could spot local talent in the area.

Therefore he convinced his parent to let him join Atalanta and therefore following Manuel successful trial with Atalanta, the nine-year-old teenager was registered in the club.

There he did wonder with

academy, being highly revered for his high work rate and the act of catapulting the ball into the net and went on to join AC Milan at the age of 11 years.

While with the Rossoneri he progressed through each youth category, from Esordienti to Primavera, in March 2015, he made his first professional contract with Milan, featuring for them until 30 June 2018.

It is also among the amazing

top facts about Manuel Locatelli

that during his span at the AC Milan academy, his father was mistaken for another man. In other words, people assumed him to be the son of the club’s playmaking attacking midfielder, Tomas Locatelli, in the light of their striking resemblance and their similar family surname.

When it comes to top facts about Manuel Locatelli siblings, although he and his brother, Mattia stopped advancing in their education all for the case of football, their sister, Martina has reached the highest level of education and has a PhD, being highly adored as a person that everyone would like to have as a sister, being a living paragon of someone with both beauty and brain.

As it was mentioned earlier, his brother, Mattia is also a footballer, although not as successful as Manuel, he went on to play as a central striker for Sondrio Calcio, U.S. Inveruno and has married a beautiful lawyer called Arianna Bonfanti.

Manuel Locatelli professional career

Locatelli was called up to Milan's senior team ahead of the away match against Udinese that occurred on 22 September 2015, yet he was an unused substitute.

Then he was promoted to the first team by the then Milan head coach Siniša Mihajlović, making his Serie A debut on 21 April 2016, as the 18-year-old was replaced with Andrea Poli after 87 minutes in a 0−0 home draw against Carpi. Then on 14 May 2016, he appeared as a starter, in the last league match of the season against

at the San Siro.

After that he appeared as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 victory over Sampdoria, on 2 October 2016, he came on as a substitute for captain Riccardo Montolivo and put away his first Serie A goal with his first-ever shot, in a dramatic 4–3 triumph over Sassuolo.

Following that Montolivo had undergone a long-term injury over the international break, Locatelli found the opportunity to take over the deep-lying playmaker role in midfield.

With this in mind, he put away the only goal in a rival match against Juventus on 22 October, finding the back of the net through a strike with the outside of his right foot, hitting the underside of the crossbar, and rifling past goalie

. After a raft of impressive feats, he was offered to promote his contract until 30 June 2020, with the pay rise.

But on 25 January 2017, following that he received two yellow cards in 2016–17 Coppa Italia Quarter Final match against Juventus, for the first time in his career he was sent off.

Although he started in the second leg of Milan's Europa League qualification match against CS U Craiova and also played a crucial role in Milan's 2–0 victory on 3 August 2017, his playing time had started to become limited in the cope of Montolivo's recovery and the arrival of Lucas Biglia.

As a result, it is no wonder to see that on 13 August 2018, he moved to Sassuolo on loan with an obligation to buy, as he ended up racking up 31 appearances and 3 goals in his debut season for them.

Afterwards on 18 August 2021, he was grabbed by Juventus through an initial two-year loan, with an obligation to then purchase the player for €25 million payable over three years in addition to €12.5 million in potential add-ons.

While he reunited with the head coach of Milan,

who had called up him to train with the senior team in 2013 aged 15, his debut took place on 22 August, in a 2–2 draw against Udinese, appearing as a substitute in the 90th minute.

On 26 September, he went on to score his first goal for Juventus, which was winning goal of a 3–2 home triumph over Sampdoria. Moreover on 2 October, even in the 86th minute of the game, he could put away the only goal of a 1–0 victory over Derby della Mole rivals Torino.

On the international stage, he was a member of the Italy U17 team at the 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and also starred in the 2016 Under-19 Championship with the under-19 side, while they ended up being runners-up.

Likewise, his debut with the Italy U21 team occurred on 23 March 2017, in a friendly 2–1 victory over Poland. In June 2017, he was among the Italy under-21 squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship by manager Luigi Di Biagio.

Yet, Spain eliminated Italy in the semi-finals on 27 June, after a 3–1 victory. He also contributed to the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

In addition, his senior debut appearance took place on 7 September 2020, when he starred as a starter in a 1–0 UEFA Nations League triumph over the Netherlands in Amsterdam.

On 28 March 2021, he managed to score his first goal for Italy, which was the second of a 2–0 away triumph over Bulgaria in a 2022 World Cup qualification match.

Being included in Italy's squad for UEFA

by manager Roberto Mancini, on 16 June, he amazingly put away two goals in Italy's second group stage match, a 3–0 victory over Switzerland.

Likewise on 6 July, in the semi-final of the tournament against Spain, he appeared as a stopgap for Nicolò Barella late in the second half of regulation time and after a 1–1 draw following extra-time, he took Italy's first spot-kick in resulting shoot-out, as it was saved by Unai Simón. Yet Italy eventually advanced to the final 4–2 on penalties.

In the meantime, on 11 July, he won the European Championship with Italy after a 3–2 penalty shoot-out triumph over England at Wembley Stadium in the final.

That is to say, following a 1–1 draw in extra-time, he made a substitute appearance in the final, appearing in replace for Verratti in the first half of extra-time.

Manuel Locatelli personal life

As one of the most impressive

top facts about Manuel Locatelli

, it is pertinent to note that he is not doing wonder just with his professional career, in as much as his personal life affairs have been ever more intriguing too.

That is to say after that the romantic

midfielder curled into the bottom corner to score a 1-0 victory over Torino, he backed up his winning by asking his girlfriend Thessa Lacovich to marry him.

Therefore Locatelli got engaged to her after that his stunning partner responded him yes and expressed it with a rush of feelings on her social media account.

But Manuel Locatelli and this lady that has a colossal beauty have been together since 2017. It is to be said that the lovebirds met each other just even before the time that Manuel had made a professional contract with AC Milan.

That is to say, Thessa Lacovich supported him emotionally during the traumatic months of his injury torment and at the time

claimed that they are no more interested in him.

Manuel Locatelli wife

, Thessa Lacovich has her roots in South American Costa Rica and following her family migration to Italy, she began school in the big city.

She continued her studies until she has graduated in Media Advertising and is currently a BSc Holder with the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan and works as a self-employed Digital Communication Strategists.

As a lady with beauty and brains, she tends to have a raft of interesting hobbies like riding horses. Yet she does find time to support her husband as well as look after their dog.

In case you are curious to know more about her, Sportmob would take you through top facts about Thessa Lacovich, Manuel Locatelli's stunning wife as soon as possible.

Moreover while the lovers are not shy to flaunt love in public or media, in all probability the catholic marriage would be their next formal step.

They also take huge delight in visiting the awe-inspiring panorama of the desert or arid landscapes as well as the seaside, since these sublime sceneries elevate the mood for the two love birds, therefore it is no wonder to see them often take aquatic and terrestrial vacations to have a better outlook on life.

It can not be excluded from the

top facts about Manuel Locatelli

that during Italy’s 3-0 victory over Switzerland in the Euro 2020 group stages, when he rose to prominence by scoring a brace, he went on to race to the corner to celebrate with making a ‘T’ sign with his hands.

Although it was there that the sign came to the spotlight and grabbed the utmost attention, this was not the first time he was seen doing this celebration. In as much as he has repeated this hand sign following scoring for Sassuolo too.

But when it comes to the meaning behind it, he once indicated that the ‘T’ sign is dedicated to his fiancee Thessa as well as to his dog Teddy who is unfortunately not alive anymore.

Manuel Locatelli love for animals

From the reason behind his T celebration, you might get the hint that Locatelli is particularly passionate about animals especially his dog.

Yet unfortunately, he lost his dog last December and had become absolutely broken by it to such an extent that on the tragic passing away of his dog, he wrote a very impressive message on Instagram, remembering Teddy and indicating his love for animals.

Amazingly, the same goes with his wife, Thessa, who also has a special fondness for animals, just for instance consider her owning a horse yard and her looking after all the horses on her own.

Manuel Locatelli special affection for Africa

Hopefully, the kind-hearted Locatelli has always had a great affection for Africa and was provided with the opportunity of visiting South Africa during an AC Milan tour.

Thereby he did not hesitate to take benefit of the chance of travelling around the country to visit a school where he had a blissful time with the children.

The affectionate footballer still highly regards those memories and describes the time spent with the children as an experience that has made an indelible impression on him.

Manuel Locatelli net worth

In this section of our top facts about Manuel Locatelli, it is due time to suggest that although he was valued at €12 million on June 6, 2019,  in the blink of an eye, his market value has since allegedly tripled to €35 million.

When it comes to

Manuel Locatelli’s net worth

many sources indicated it to be $1 million, yet it seems that this is for the time he was still playing for Sassuolo, and his current net worth has been not updated yet.

Be that as it may, at least we can provide you with some further insight about his current signature with Juventus.

To be specific, the Turin giant has taken Locatelli's services on a five-year deal with a €25million fee reported until 2026, and this means that he is set to earn €2m per year.

Moreover, if we take full account of his agreement into consideration, we must notify you that Juventus effectively have Locatelli on free for the following two years until June 30, 2023.

Then after that, if particular "sporting objectives are met", Juve is ought to pay him €25m in the next three years to retain his registration while a further €12.5m will be payable if extra conditions are met.

With such earnings, the midfielder has been able to maintain a moderate lifestyle. Precisely as saying, when he was in Sassuolo, he resided in a luxurious apartment while he also owns a family property near Lecco, his hometown, where his family are living a blissful life.

In addition, although he has driven cars such as the Fiat Panda, his priority has been always Mercedes.

Manuel Locatelli Social media

The matter of Manuel Locatelli social media activity is an indispensable part of top facts about Manuel Locatelli, especially when he is highly active on various networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Just on his Instagram account of

, he has gathered more than one million followers while the great majority of his posts are in line with his football profession and his love life as well.

In regard to his recent activity on social media, it is binding to indicate that while his previous club, Sassuolo had a 40m euros offer from Arsenal for his signature, he decided to join Juventus who had offered less amountt of money, reportedly to be around 30m euros.

Following this decision, he went on to share the delight of joining Juventus, reposting the backstage video for his official presentation on Instagram as he added the club’s motto ‘Fino all Fine Forza Juventus’ as a caption.

In fact, his preference of joining them was on the basis of his childhood dream and therefore it is no wonder to see him expressing his ongoing joy on social media for the realization of once a lofty ambition.

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