1. He has Italian ancestry
Emerson Palmieri’s family on his mother’s side hail from the Italian town of Rossano on the Gulf of Taranto, the square of the Ionian Sea situated under the sole of Italy’s boot. His great-grandfather Alfonso was born in Rossano in 1853 and left Europe for South America in the late 19th century, settling in Brazil. Emerson is Alfonso’s great-grandson and those ancestral links enabled him to attain Italian citizenship in 2017.
2. His brother is a footballer too
Emerson Palmieri’s older brother Giovanni is also a footballer. The 33-year-old is a left-back, like his younger sibling, but unlike Emerson he has spent his entire career in Brazil. A Primeira Liga champion with Fluminense in 2016 and Campeonato Brasileiro Série B winner with América Mineiro in 2017, Giovanni has also turned out for Bahia, Cruzeiro and is currently with Portuguesa Santista in the Palmieri brothers’ home city of Santos.
3. He started at the same club as Pelé
Emerson Palmieri came through the youth ranks at Santos in Brazil’s São Paolo state – the same club which produced the great Pelé, current Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar and former West Ham United winger Felipe Anderson. He made his senior debut for the Santos in a 3-0 Campeonato Paulista win over Paulista in April 2011, aged 16 years and eight months, then his national Série A debut in a 1-0 defeat by Flamengo in June 2012, aged 17 years and nine months.
4. He was a South American champion with Brazil
Emerson Palmieri was part of Brazil’s South American U-17 Championship-winning squad in 2011. Playing alongside the likes of current Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Marquinhos and future Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Léo Bonatini and Fulham winger Lucas Piazon, Emerson scored in a group-stage win over Chile as Brazil won seven of their nine ties to secure the title.
5. He moved to Europe at 20
After making 33 appearances for Santos, Emerson Palmieri initially moved to European football in August 2013, three weeks after his 20th birthday, when he joined Italian Serie A club Palermo on a season-long loan. His debut for the Sicilian club came as a substitute for former West Ham United left-back Fabio Daprela in a 3-3 Serie A draw with Napoli the following month.
6. He had a successful time in Rome
Emerson Palmieri spent two-and-a-half seasons with Italian club Roma between August 2015 and January 2018, helping the club finish third in Serie A in 2015/16, second in Serie A and reach the UEFA Europa League round of 16 in 2016/17, before joining English Premier League side Chelsea for a reported initial fee of £17.6m.
7. Roberto Mancini made him an Italy international
Emerson Palmieri was granted Italian citizenship in March 2017 and received his first call-up from Italy national team head coach Gian Piero Ventura in June of the same year. After recovering from a knee injury, Emerson made his senior debut for Roberto Mancini’s Italy in a UEFA Nations League A tie with Portugal in Lisbon in September 2018. After helping Italy qualify for UEFA Euro 2020, Emerson started the group-stage win over Wales, semi-final victory over Spain and final win over England at Wembley in July 2021.
8. He's won a hat-trick of European trophies
Emerson Palmieri won three trophies with Chelsea. He started the 2019 UEFA Europa League final victory over Arsenal and was a substitute as the Blues beat Manchester City 1-0 in the 2021 UEFA Champions League final and Villarreal in the UEFA Super Cup final in August of the same year. He spent last season on loan with French club Olympique Lyonnais, appearing in both legs of the UEFA Europa League quarter-final defeat by West Ham United.
