Emerson Palmieri

Emerson Palmieri dos Santos Cavaliere OMRI (born 3 August 1994), known as Emerson Palmieri or simply Emerson, is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Ligue 1 club Marseille. Born in Brazil, he played for the Italy national team.

Emerson began his career at his hometown club Santos, moving to Serie A club Roma in 2015 having spent a season on loan at Palermo. In 2018, he was signed by Premier League club Chelsea, where he won the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup.

After a season on loan with French side Lyon, he transferred across London to West Ham United in 2022, where he became the only player to have won all four European Continental competitions after winning the UEFA Europa Conference League in his first season.

Internationally, Emerson played for his native Brazil at under-17 level, but he later declared his desire to represent Italy, having been granted Italian citizenship in 2017. He has since represented the Italy national team, making his senior international debut with the side in 2018 and later taking part at UEFA Euro 2020, winning the tournament.

Born in Santos, São Paulo, Emerson played in Santos' youth team making his first team debut on 17 April 2011, coming on as a late substitute for Keirrison in a 3–0 Campeonato Paulista home win against Paulista. His first start occurred on 21 January 2012, in a 1–1 away draw against XV de Piracicaba. In February, he returned to the youth team, but he was called up to the match against Mogi Mirim in the following month. He also appeared against Ituano and Paulista, as the club was crowned champions of Paulistão for the third consecutive time.

On 17 June, Emerson made his Série A debut, in a 0–1 defeat against Flamengo. He scored his first goal on 5 September 2013, but in a 1–2 loss at Atlético Paranaense.

On 25 August 2014, Emerson was loaned to Serie A's Palermo, with a buyout clause. He made his debut in the competition on 24 September, coming on as a second half substitute for Fabio Daprelà in a 3–3 away draw against Napoli. Emerson played nine league matches for the club, being mainly a backup to another new signing, Achraf Lazaar.

On 31 August 2015, Emerson joined fellow league team Roma, on loan for one year. A second-choice behind Lucas Digne, he made his debut for the club on 4 October in a 4–2 away win against former side Palermo.