Emanuele Rao
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 28 March 2006 | ||
| Place of birth | Rovereto, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Bari (on loan from Napoli) | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| ChievoVerona | |||
| SPAL | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023–2025 | SPAL | 64 | (6) |
| 2025– | Napoli | 0 | (0) |
| 2025– | → Bari (loan) | 28 | (6) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022–2023 | Italy U17 | 12 | (1) |
| 2023 | Italy U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 2024 | Italy U19 | 2 | (0) |
| 2026– | Italy U20 | 1 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11 April 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 11 April 2026 | |||
Emanuele Rao (born 28 March 2006) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Serie B club Bari, on loan from Napoli.
Born in Rovereto, Trentino-Alto Adige, Rao is a youth product of ChievoVerona and SPAL.[1][2][3][4]
In September 2022, he signed his first professional contract with SPAL.[5] Rao made his professional debut with SPAL in a 3–0 Serie C win over Perugia on 15 September 2023.[1] The following month, he scored his first goal in a match against Lucchese, becoming at 17 years, 6 months and 13 days the second youngest scorer in the club's history.[3][6] After a first promising season,[7] he established himself as one of the best youngster in the league.[3][8][9][10]
In July 2025, after SPAL went bankrupt, he moved to Napoli in Serie A, from where he was straight loaned to Bari in Serie B for the 2025–26 season.[1][11][12] By the spring 2026, despite Bari struggling on the field, Emanuele Rao was viewed as one of the most promising prospects of the Italian second tier, scoring 6 goals and delivering 2 assists in less than 3 months.[2][13][14][15]
