Not just the goal against Lecce, an all-around performance filled with charisma and quality plays. Now his club wants to continue with him, making him one of the most important players in recent history.
Not only did he wear the captain’s armband, Nicolò Barella showed the right attitude of a leader against Lecce, and it was him who led the team without ‘Il Capitano‘ Lautaro Martinez. The Sardinian midfielder knew that without Lautaro (injured), he had to give more than usual, and he… crafted an all-around performance: Bare’ scored the goal for the 2-0 lead, but he could have easily had 2 assists which were wasted by Arnautovic, and Mkhitaryan. The Italian made numerous runs to cover the midfield, a couple of technical master-touches, and just 6 missed passes out of 68 attempts. Without Il Toro after 89 consecutive appearances, Inter needed someone to rely on to bounce back immediately after the loss to Bologna in the Coppa Italia.
NERAZZURRI ITALIAN BALLON D’OR
At 26, Nicolò has already surpassed 250 appearances in Serie A and recently ranked 26th in the Ballon d’Or rankings, being the only Italian among the top 30. Considering his consistent presence in the prestigious AIC’s Serie A top 11 every year and a similar ranking in 2021, he deserves recognition among the world’s best midfielders. Despite a slower start to the season, partly due to his wife’s pregnancy issues, Nicolò admitted: “I let certain things that I should have set aside affect me and my football. Now, thanks to my teammates, I’ve cleared my head and regained my form.”
In the last month, he has stepped up: a spectacular goal and an assist in the victory at the Maradona against Napoli, then another assist in the 2-0 win against Lazio at the Olimpico, and now the goal that sealed the deal against Lecce, for which he thanked Arnautovic: “Not scoring weighs on us midfielders too, let alone the forwards… Marko was ready when we needed him, and he deserves compliments for the assist he gave me.”
CONTRACT RENEWAL EXPECTED BEFORE JUNE 2024
Like Il Toro, Barella is expected to also recieve a contract renewal. The Argentine seems more advanced in negotiations, but there have already been a couple of meetings between the Inter management and the agent of the Sardinian. Most importantly, there is a strong determination to extend the agreement expiring in 2026. This is also because the major European clubs have had their eye on him for a while, and the upcoming summer could witness another attempt on the midfielder. So far, Barella has never been swayed by distant courtships, and he will be even less if he puts pen to paper on his second Nerazzurri renewal.
