Raoul Bellanova

Raoul Bellanova (born 17 May 2000) is an Italian footballer who plays as a right back Bordeaux.

Early life

He was born in Rho, in the province of Milan on 17 May 2000.

Club career

He started playing at age 4, for Azzurra. In 2005 he moved to FC Parabiago, and in 2006 his contract was bought by the Milan youth team. From 2006 to 2019, Bellanova played for teams of various age groups at A.C. Milan's youth academy.

In January 2019, after failing to negotiate a desired wage, he declined a professional contract offer from Milan, opting to sign for Bordeaux instead. At the request of Milan's management, he agreed to finish the season with the club's youth team.

In July 2019, Bellanova was officially presented as Bordeaux player with a contract valid through June 2023. On 10 August 2019, he made his debut in senior football, playing as a starting right back in 4-2-3-1 formation against Angers SCO in the opening game of Ligue 1 2019/20 season. Having made several positioning mistakes that led to three goals from his right flank, he was subbed off 63 minutes into the game by the team's coach Paulo Sousa.

International career

In October 2017 he played in the European Under-19 qualifiers, He debuted on 4 October 2017, against Moldova, The match ended 0-4 for Italy. In November 2018 he took part in the Italian Under-20 team, against Germany.

Style of play

Bellanova is a physically strong, quick, fast, offensive-minded right back with good defensive positioning and reading of the game. Besides his regular position of a full back on the right flank, he can also play as a center back (in both, three and four-player defense line) or a wide midfielder in 3-5-2 formation.