Riccardo Orsolini (born 24 January 1997) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Serie A club Bologna and the Italy national team.
A product of Ascoli's youth academy, Orsolini made his first-team debut in the 2015–16 Serie B, earning nine appearances in the league.[citation needed] On 30 January 2017, he moved to Juventus permanently until June 2021 for a fee of €6 million, plus an extra €4 million depending on certain conditions.[2] However, Orsolini remained in Ascoli Piceno until the end of the season. On 14 July 2017, Orsolini joined Atalanta on a two-year loan.[3]
Having only appeared as a substitute for Atalanta, Orsolini returned to Juventus before moving to Bologna in January 2018, on a 18-month loan with a buy option.[4] On 19 June 2019, Orsolini signed a deal with Bologna and signed for the club on a permanent basis.[5] On 25 August 2023, Orsolini extended his contract with Bologna until 30 June 2027.[6][7]
On 14 May 2025, Orsolini won Coppa Italia with Bologna, the club's first major trophy in 51 years.[8] In the 2024–25 season, he achieved a personal best by scoring 15 goals in Serie A and totaling 17 across all competitions, making him the club's top scorer.[9]
With the Italy U-20 side, Orsolini took part at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and led the tournament in goals, scoring five, as Italy finished the competition in third place, their best ever result.[10][11] Due to his prolific performances, he was named by many in the media as the outright best player on the Italian side.[12]
On 18 November 2019, Orsolini made his senior debut under coach Roberto Mancini, coming on as a substitute for Nicolò Barella in a 9–1 home victory against Armenia during Italy's final UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match.[13] He also scored his first international goal whilst providing an assist for Federico Chiesa's as well.[14]
Orsolini is a physically strong and fast-paced winger, who excels in one on one situations due to his excellent dribbling ability. Although Orsolini is naturally left-footed, he prefers to play on the right flank, in either a 4–3–3 or 4–2–3–1 formation, a position which allows him to cut into the centre and shoot on goal with his stronger foot.[15][16][17]
| Club | Season | League | Coppa Italia | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ascoli | 2015–16 | Serie B | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | 41 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | 42 | 8 | |||
| Total | 50 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | 51 | 8 | |||
| Atalanta (loan) | 2017–18 | Serie A | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Total | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Bologna (loan) | 2017–18 | Serie A | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 | 35 | 8 | 2 | 2 | — | 37 | 10 | |||
| Bologna | 2019–20 | 37 | 8 | 2 | 1 | — | 39 | 9 | ||
| 2020–21 | 34 | 7 | 2 | 2 | — | 36 | 9 | |||
| 2021–22 | 29 | 6 | 1 | 1 | — | 30 | 7 | |||
| 2022–23 | 32 | 11 | 2 | 0 | — | 34 | 11 | |||
| 2023–24 | 33 | 10 | 1 | 0 | — | 34 | 10 | |||
| 2024–25 | 30 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 6[b] | 0 | 40 | 17 | ||
| 2025–26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | |||
| Total | 240 | 66 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 260 | 74 | ||
| Career total | 298 | 74 | 16 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 321 | 82 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2019 | 1 | 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 2 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 November 2019 | Stadio Renzo Barbera, Palermo, Italy | 1 |  Armenia |
8–0 | 9–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
| 2 | 11 November 2020 | Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy | 2 |  Estonia |
4–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
