Matteo Darmian (born 2 December 1989) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a full-back or wing-back.
He began his career at AC Milan, making his senior debut in 2006 at the age of 16 and Serie A debut in 2007 at the age of 17. In 2009, he joined Padova on loan, whom he helped avoid relegation from Serie B in his only season there. He then signed for Palermo in 2010, and one year later joined Torino, where he played for four seasons. He moved to Manchester United in July 2015, and in four years there, won the FA Cup and UEFA Europa League, before joining Parma in 2019. He signed a season-long loan deal with Inter in October 2020, who made the transfer permanent in February 2021. That season ended with Darmian winning the Serie A title, a first league championship of his career.
Darmian made his senior debut for the Italy national team in May 2014, and represented his nation at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2016 and Euro 2024.
Darmian grew up playing football in the main square in Rescaldina and was trained by his father, Giovanni, who was one of the coaches of Oratorio team, US CARCOR, where players such as Marco Simone and Luigi Pogliana also played. He often played as a central or defensive midfielder in his youth. His first real break came when he was spotted by Beniamino Abate, a former goalkeeper tasked with scouting Lombardy for young talent by AC Milan.
In 2000, Darmian joined Milan's youth system. He made his first-team debut for the Rossoneri on 28 November 2006, aged only 16, in the Coppa Italia against Brescia, replacing Kakha Kaladze at half-time.
He made his Serie A debut at the age of 17, in Milan's 3–2 defeat against Udinese on 19 May 2007, when he entered in the 67th minute to replace Giuseppe Favalli. During the 2007–08 season he became the leader and captain of the youth team, collecting another appearance for the first-team in the Coppa Italia. The following season, the 19-year-old defender collected an additional three league appearances. He ended his experience at Milan with four appearances in the top flight.
On 17 July 2009, Darmian moved to Serie B club Padova on loan until the end of the 2009–10 season. He made his official debut for the club on 28 November 2009, in a home loss against Vicenza. He went on to make 20 appearances and score one goal, as Padova finished the season in 19th place and subsequently won the relegation play-off against Triestina.
On 11 July 2010, it was announced that Matteo Darmian would join Palermo's pre-season training camp in Austria, after Milan and the Sicilian Serie A club agreed in principle about a transfer move involving him. The move, unveiled as a co-ownership bid, was officially announced by Palermo the next day. The fee was €800,000. Darmian made his debut for the Rosanero on 16 September 2010, in a Europa League game against Sparta Prague, which also earned him his debut in European competition. His Palermo league debut was during the fourth game of the season, coming on for Javier Pastore in a 3–1 win against Juventus. On 6 February 2011, he played his first game as a starter in the league in a 4–2 victory for Palermo away at Lecce, but was substituted in the 33rd minute due to injury. He finished the season with 16 appearances among Serie A, Europa League and Coppa Italia.
After Milan and Palermo renewed the co-ownership on 23 June 2011, he was officially loaned to Serie B side Torino on 12 July 2011. He made his debut for the Granata on 13 August 2011, in the second round of Coppa Italia against Lumezzane; and scored his first goal on 30 October 2011, against Empoli, allowing his team to win 2–1. On 13 November 2011, he was injured against Bari and sidelined for five games. At the end of the season, he was promoted to Serie A, having played 33 games in the league and one in the Coppa Italia.
On 20 June 2012, Palermo redeemed its 50% share from Milan for €500,000 and on 5 July 2012, his return to Torino was formulised under a co-ownership agreement for €825,000. With Torino he played 30 games in Serie A and two in the Coppa Italia. On 20 June 2013, Torino redeemed the remainder of his contract from Palermo for €1.5 million.
In the 2013–14 season, he played 37 games in Serie A for Torino, who finished 7th and qualified for the Europa League after Parma failed to obtain a UEFA license. He featured in the Serie A Team of the Year, along with teammate, Ciro Immobile. On 18 May 2014, he made his 100th appearance for Torino during the 2–2 draw away to Fiorentina.
In his first appearance of the 2014–15 season, on 7 August 2014, he scored his first goal in European competition, in a 4–0 victory against Sweden's IF Brommapojkarna, in the second leg of the 2014–15 Europa League third qualifying round. On 29 October 2014, he scored his first goal in Serie A to secure a 1–0 win over Parma, before returning to the score-sheet on 11 December 2014 in the Europa League group stage, won 5–1 away at Copenhagen. On 26 February 2015, he scored the match-winner against Athletic Bilbao, qualifying Torino for the round of 16 after a historic 3–2 victory in Spain. He concluded the season with 47 appearances and five goals between Serie A, Europe and the Coppa Italia.
In total, he played 151 matches and scored six goals for Torino.
On 11 July 2015, Darmian signed for English club Manchester United for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £12.7 million. He signed a four-year contract with an option to extend it for a further year. He made his debut for the club against Club América during preseason on 17 July, playing the first 45 minutes, with United winning 1–0. He made his Premier League debut on 8 August 2015 as the season opened with a 1–0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford, with manager Louis van Gaal selecting his performance as the best of the match. On 10 September, Darmian earned his first official accolade at the club, after he was voted Manchester United's August 2015 player of the month. "It's important to know this is from the fans," Matteo told United's official website. "I want to thank them. I am happy. I also want to thank my team-mates and everyone at the club for making me feel welcome."
In April 2016, Darmian scored his only Premier League goal for Manchester United, a powerful volley from the edge of the penalty area, in the 55th minute of a 2–0 victory against Crystal Palace. He was presented with the club's man of the match award for his performance in this fixture and hailed his strike as the best goal of his career to date. His cross, in the fourth minute of play, had also previously forced an own goal from Damien Delaney. Darmian featured in the 2016 FA Cup Final against Crystal Palace on 21 May, coming on in the 66th minute for Marcos Rojo, helping United achieve a 2–1 victory.
Darmian's first appearance of the 2016–17 season came on 15 September 2016, in a 1–0 defeat against Dutch-side Feyenoord in the UEFA Europa League group stage. He didn't feature again until 20 October, when he played the full 90 minutes against Turkish-side Fenerbahçe in a 4–1 win. Darmian appeared in all of United's Premier League games in November, playing at left-back against Swansea City, Arsenal and West Ham United. He continued to contribute to United's unbeaten streak by featuring against Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion in December. On 10 January 2017, he played in the 2–0 victory against Hull City in the EFL Cup semi-final first-leg, assisting the second goal with a cross to Marouane Fellaini. He also played in the second leg on 27 January, helping United advance 3–2 on aggregate.
Darmian's appearances in the league became limited after a 1–1 draw against rivals Liverpool on 15 January, with him not featuring again until 19 March when he came on as a stoppage time substitute in a 3–1 win against Middlesbrough. On 9 April, he started for United, his first in the league since January, in a 3–0 victory over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. In May 2017, Darmian played in both of the UEFA Europa League semi-final games against Spanish-side Celta Vigo, helping United go through to the final 2–1 on aggregate. On 24 May, Darmian started at left-back in the UEFA Europa League Final against Dutch-side Ajax, playing the full 90 minutes as United won 2–0.