Piotr Sebastian Zieliński (; born 20 May 1994) is a Polish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

club

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

and

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

the Poland national team. He is known for his versatility, precision passing, dribbling, and endurance. Zieliński began his senior club career at Italian club

Udinese Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...

in 2012 before joining

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno River, Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Ancient Ro ...

on loan in 2014. He then joined fellow Italian club

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

for a reported €16 million fee in 2016. During his spell at Napoli, he established himself as a key player of the team, winning the

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

and helping the club to win the first Serie A title in 33 years. He appeared in 364 official matches for Napoli, which makes him one of the club's most consistent and long-serving players during his tenure from 2016 to 2024. In 2024, he moved to Inter Milan. At the international level, Zieliński has earned over 90 caps for Poland since 2013. He was selected to represent the nation at

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...

in France, where he helped his team reach the quarter-finals. He also participated at the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

in Russia, the pan-European

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

, the

2022 World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

in Qatar, and the

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

in Germany. In 2023, he was named the Polish Footballer of the Year. He is often considered as one of the greatest Polish footballers of all time.

Club career

Early career

Zieliński started his career at his local club, Orzeł Ząbkowice Śląskie, where he was coached by his father. At the age of 14, he joined

Zagłębie Lubin Zagłębie Lubin S.A. () is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Lubin. Founded in 1945 as ''OMTUR Lubin'', the club competes in the Ekstraklasa. History The football team was founded in 1945 as OMTUR Lubin by lo ...

, even though he was wanted by

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and also had trials at

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

and

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, ) is a town and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the m ...

. He spent four years at the academy playing in the

Młoda Ekstraklasa Młoda Ekstraklasa (, official abbreviation MESA or (rarely) literally in English: The Young Ekstraklasa) was a Polish youth football league consisting of the top youth teams from the 16 Ekstraklasa clubs. The league was established to promote ...

League and was regularly called up to the

Poland national under-17 football team The Poland national under-17 football team represents Poland in international football at this age level and is controlled by Polish Football Association. This team is for Polish players aged 17 or under at the start of a two-year European Und ...

. He rose through the ranks and started training with the first team at the age of 15, under

Franciszek Smuda Franciszek Smuda (; 22 June 1948 – 18 August 2024) was a Polish football player and manager. As a player, he spent his career playing for clubs in Poland, the United States and Germany. In 1983, he turned to coaching, becoming the manager of ...

. At 17, he moved abroad to join

after they scouted him on international youth tournament.

Udinese

In the 2011–12 season, he played in the

Campionato Nazionale Primavera The Campionato Nazionale Primavera – Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti, was an Italian football youth competition. It is organised by the Lega Serie A and the participating teams that take part in Serie A and Serie B: the first edition was held in the 1 ...

scoring two goals in twelve matches. Zieliński made his debut in

on 2 November 2012 when he replaced

Antonio Di Natale Antonio Di Natale (; born 13 October 1977) is an Italian football coach and former professional player who played as a striker. After being a member of the Empoli youth side since 1994, Di Natale started his professional career with the Empo ...

in 91st minute of a match against

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

. On 14 April 2013, he made his first appearance in the club's starting lineup and registered an assist in Udinese's convincing 3–0 victory over

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

Empoli (loan)

In 2014, Zieliński joined

on loan. On 13 August 2014, he made his official debut for Empoli replacing Daniele Croce in the 80th minute of the match against

AS Roma Associazione Sportiva Roma (''Rome Sport Association''; Italian pronunciation: Help:IPA/Italian, ) is a professional Association football, football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier ...

, which ended in a 0–1 loss for his club. On 3 December 2014, he made his debut appearance in

in a 2–0 victory over

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. On 26 April 2015, he provided an assist in a 2–2 draw against Atalanta. Zieliński ended his season-long loan to Empoli with 30 appearances and 3 assists. In July 2015, he extended his contract with the club for another season. He began the

2015–16 Serie A The 2015–16 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 114th season of top-tier Italian football, the 84th in a round-robin tournament, and the 6th since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...

season as a starter in

Maurizio Sarri Maurizio Sarri (; born 10 January 1959) is an Italian professional football manager who is currently manager of Serie A club Lazio. Sarri did not play football professionally, taking part as an amateur centre back and coach while working as a ba ...

's team. On 13 September 2015, he assisted Riccardo Saponara's goal in a 2–2 draw against

. On 4 October 2015, he registered an assist for

Massimo Maccarone Massimo Maccarone (; born 6 September 1979) is an Italian football coach and former player, who played as a striker. He was nicknamed ''Big Mac'' during his playing days. Club career Early career Maccarone started his career at A.C. Milan's y ...

's deciding goal in Empoli's 1–0 victory over

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known for being the centre of the Ita ...

. In the 90th minute of the match, he was given a second yellow card forcing him to leave the pitch. On 24 October 2015, he scored his first goal in Serie A with a well-placed header in a 2–0 victory over

. On 23 January 2016, he scored against

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

in a match, which concluded in a 1–1 draw. On 21 February 2016, he scored a goal against Sassuolo in a match which concluded in Empoli's 2–3 loss and on 10 April he scored again against Fiorentina securing a 2–0 victory for his team. Zieliński played a total of 37 matches for Empoli in the season scoring 5 goals and delivering 3 assists. Before the start of the next season, Zieliński prepared to change clubs and held talks with a number of clubs including

Napoli

2016–2017 season

On 4 August 2016, after months of transfer speculation, Zieliński moved from Udinese to Napoli for a reported €16 million. On 21 August 2016, he made his debut appearance for Napoli, alongside his compatriot

Arkadiusz Milik Arkadiusz Krystian Milik (; born 28 February 1994) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Juventus and the Poland national team. Milik began his career as a footballer in the Rozwój Katowice youth squad. ...

, substituting

Marek Hamšík Marek Hamšík (; born 27 July 1987) is a Slovak football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently the team manager and assistant coach for the Slovakia national team. After beginning his club career with Slovan B ...

in the 71st minute of the match against

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

, which ultimately concluded in a 2–2 draw. On 10 September 2016, he debuted in Napoli's starting lineup and provided an assist to

José Callejón José María Callejón Bueno (; born 11 February 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a forward or winger. He began his career with the reserve teams of Real Madrid, but made a name for himself at Espanyol. In 2011 ...

's goal against

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

in Napoli's 3–0 victory. On 13 September 2016, Zieliński made his Champions League debut in Napoli's match against

Dynamo Kyiv The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...

, which concluded in his team's 2–1 victory. He became the 57th Polish player to participate in Champions League representing a foreign club. On 7 January 2017, his performance in the match against Sampdoria (2–1) marked his 100th match played in Serie A. On 14 May 2017, he netted the final goal in Napoli's decisive 5–0 away win against

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. He scored his first goal with Partenopei's shirt on 3 December, in a 3–0 home win against

; he ended his first season with six goals and six assists in 47 mataches.

2017–2018 season

Zieliński began the

2017–18 Serie A The 2017–18 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 116th season of top-tier Italian football, the 86th in a round-robin tournament and the 8th since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...

season as a starting lineup player in the match against

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

, which took place on 19 August and concluded with Napoli's 3–1 win. On 27 August 2017, he scored an equalizer to make it 1–1 in Napoli's 3–1 win over Atalanta. On 10 September 2017, he netted a goal against

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

contributing to a comfortable 3–0 victory for Napoli. On 18 November 2017, he entered the pitch in the 69th minute of the match against

as a substitute for

and scored the second goal in Napoli's narrow 2–1 victory. On 21 November 2017, Zieliński scored his first Champions League goal in the match against

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk () is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club that was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014 when, due to the War in Donbas (2014–2022), War in Donbas, the club was forced to move to Lvi ...

, which ended with Napoli's decisive 3–0 win. He netted another Champions League goal on 6 December 2017, in the match against

, which ultimately concluded with his club's 1–2 loss. On 16 December 2017, he scored in a Serie A match against Torino to make it 2–0 after an assist from Jorginho, the match eventually ending in Napoli's 3–1 victory. On 22 February 2018, he scored his first goal in

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

in the match against

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company ...

, contributing to a 2–0 victory for Napoli. He finished the season having played in 36 Serie A matches and scoring 4 goals while Napoli finished as runners-up four points behind Juventus.

2018–2019 season

In the first round of the

2018–19 Serie A The 2018–19 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 117th season of top-tier Italian football, the 87th in a round-robin tournament, and the 9th since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...

season, Zieliński played in the match against Lazio that his club won 2–1. In his next match, on 25 August 2018, he netted a brace in a hard-fought win against

in which his team came back from a 2–0 deficit. On 8 December 2018, he scored again in Napoli's emphatic 4–0 win over

Frosinone Frosinone (; local dialect: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lazio, administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is about southeast of Rome, close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of th ...

. On 14 February 2019, he scored a goal in a

match against

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a professional football club based in Zurich, Switzerland. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League thirteen times and the Swiss Cup ten times. ...

(3–1). On 24 February 2019, Zieliński scored a goal after an assist from

Elseid Hysaj Elseid Gëzim Hysaj (; born 2 February 1994) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Serie A club Lazio and the Albania national team. Early life Hysaj was born in Reç, Malësi e Madhe, Albania. Two months after ...

in the match against Parma (4–0). On 7 May 2019,

Dries Mertens Dries "Ciro" Mertens (; born 6 May 1987) is a free agent Belgian professional Association football, footballer who last played as a Forward (association football), forward or Winger (association football), winger for Süper Lig club Galatasaray ...

scored a goal after collecting a pass from Zieliński in a 1–1 draw against Genoa. On 19 May 2019, he scored Napoli's first goal in the club's 4–1 victory over

2019–2020 season

On 31 August 2019, he registered an assist to

Hirving Lozano Hirving Rodrigo Lozano Bahena (born 30 July 1995), commonly known as Chucky, is a Mexican professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger for Major League Soccer club San Diego FC and the Mexico national fo ...

's goal in Napoli's 3–4 loss to Juventus. On 7 December 2019, he netted an equalizer and secured a 1–1 draw against Udinese. On 26 January 2020, he scored the first goal in Napoli's 2–1 win against Juventus. On 3 February 2020, he provided an assist to compatriot

's goal in Napoli's 4–2 victory over Sampdoria. On 25 February 2020, he provided an assist in a Champions League match against

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, which concluded in a 1–1 draw. On 17 June 2020, Zieliński won the

with Napoli beating Juventus in the final penalty shootout. On 31 August 2020, he signed new contract with Napoli until June 2023.

2020–2021 season

Zieliński started the season playing the full 90 minutes against Parma (2–0) in the first round of Serie A. On 27 September 2020, he scored a goal and registered an assist in Napoli's resounding 6–0 win over Genoa. Zieliński tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and as a result missed the next two matches against

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

and

Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...

. He returned to the starting line-up on 29 November 2020 in the match against

(4–0) after making a full recovery. On 10 December 2020, he scored a goal in a

group stage match against

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

(1–1). On 3 January 2021, he scored two goals in a 4–1 win over

. On 17 January 2021, he scored again in the match against Fiorentina (6–0) delivering a precise strike from outside the penalty area. On 6 February 2021, he played as Napoli's captain for the first time in the match against Genoa (1–2). On 3 March 2021, he netted a goal contributing to a 3–3 draw against Sassuolo and in the next Serie A match against Bologna (3–1), he delivered two assists to

Lorenzo Insigne Lorenzo Insigne (; born 4 June 1991) is an Italian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward or Midfielder#Winger, winger for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC. Insigne began his pro ...

's and

Victor Osimhen Victor James Osimhen (born 29 December 1998) is a Nigerian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Süper Lig club Galatasaray S.K. (football), Galatasaray on loan from SSC Napoli, ...

's goals respectively. On 14 March 2021, he registered an assist to

Matteo Politano Matteo Politano (; born 3 August 1993) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Serie A club Napoli and the Italy national team. Club career Roma Of Calabrian origin from Fiumefreddo Bruzio, Politano is a youth pro ...

's decisive goal in Napoli's 1–0 victory over

. On 8 May 2021, he scored a goal and registered an assist in the match against

Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguri ...

, which concluded in Napoli's 4–1 win. Zieliński ended the season scoring 10 goals and delivering 13 assists for the club in 46 official matches.

2021–2022 season

On 21 August 2021, he sustained a quadriceps injury in a match against

Venezia Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

(2–0), which prevented him from playing in the next match against

. On 23 September 2021, he returned to the starting lineup and scored his first goal in the

2021–22 Serie A The 2021–22 Serie A (known as the Serie A Telecom Italia, TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 120th season of top-tier Italian association football, football, the 90th in a round-robin tournament, and the 12th since its organization under an ...

season in a 4–0 victory over

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria. Sampdoria was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the ...

. On 26 September 2021, he registered an assist in Napoli's 2–0 victory over

and repeated this in the next match on 3 October against

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

(2–1). On 31 October 2021, not only did he decide the derby between

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919 is an Italian professional football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recently in 2011. The current ...

and Napoli, scoring the only goal of the game, but with 32 goals he also became the second best Polish goal-scorer in Serie A's history (behind

), beating

Zbigniew Boniek Zbigniew Kazimierz Boniek (; born 3 March 1956) is a Polish former association football, footballer and manager as well as a current UEFA vice-president. A former midfielder, who was also capable of playing mostly as a right winger and Forward ( ...

's record. On 17 February 2022, he scored a goal for Napoli in a

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

match against

which ended in a 1–1 draw. On 15 August 2022, he scored against

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Hellas Verona (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Verona, Veneto, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won ...

contributing to his side's 5–2 victory at the

Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi The Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi is a stadium in Verona, Italy. It is the home of Hellas Verona of Serie A and was also the home of Chievo Verona, a former football club, until 2021. It also hosts matches of women's team Bardolino Verona, some ...

2022–2023 season

On 21 August 2022, he registered two assists in Napoli's 4–0 victory over

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

. On 4 October 2022, he scored another Champions League goal in a match against

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

, which concluded in Napoli's 6–1 demolition of the Dutch side. On 4 May 2023, after a 1–1 draw against

, Zielinski celebrated with Napoli the club's first Serie A title in 33 years since

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

won the title in 1990. On 24 December 2023, he was named Polish Footballer of the Year beating

Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski (; born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club FC Barcelona, Barcelona. Widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers of a ...

by 12 points and breaking his four consecutive win streak.

2023–2024: final season with Napoli

On 7 April 2024, he scored a goal in the match against

, which ended in Napoli's 4–2 win. On 7 September 2022, he scored two goals and provided one assist in a Champions League group stage match against

, which concluded in a 4–1 victory for Napoli. At the end of June 2024, it was announced on the official website that Zieliński along with five other players left the club, following the contract expiration. At Napoli, Zieliński played a total of 364 matches scoring 51 goals and providing 46 assists.

Inter Milan

On 3 July 2024, Zieliński signed for the fellow

club

on a free transfer following the expiration of his Napoli contract. On 27 October 2024, Zieliński scored two goals, both from penalty kicks, in a

Derby d'Italia The Derby d'Italia () is the name of the football derby between Internazionale of Milan and Juventus of Turin. The term was coined in 1967 by Italian sports journalist Gianni Brera. The teams are from the two biggest cities in Northern Italy ...

match against

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

, which ended in a 4–4 draw. The two goals were his first goals scored for Inter Milan. On 26 November 2024, Zieliński received the UEFA Man of the Match award for his performance in Inter Milan's 1–0 victory over

San Siro San Siro is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. It has a seating capacity of 75,817, making it the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums in Europe. It is the home stadium of the city's principal ...

in a league phase match of the

2024–25 UEFA Champions League The 2024–25 UEFA Champions League was the 70th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 33rd season since it was rebranded from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. This was the ...

. On 23 December 2024, Zieliński entered the pitch in the second half and of the match against

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

and provided an assist contributing to Inter's 2–0 victory.

International career

On 4 June 2013, Zieliński made his senior international debut for the Poland national team in a friendly match against

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

. On 31 July 2013, he was called up for a friendly match against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

scoring his first goal for the national team in the second half and securing a 3–2 win for Poland. On 27 March 2018, he scored a goal in a friendly match against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, which concluded in Poland's 3–2 win. In May 2018, he was named in Poland's preliminary 35-man squad for the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in l ...

in Russia. On 7 September 2018, he scored a goal after an assist from

against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in a

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

match that ended in a 1–1 draw. On 10 June 2019, he registered an assist to Kamil Grosicki's goal in a

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

elimination match against

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

contributing to a 4–0 victory for Poland. On 5 March 2021, he provided an assist to Kamil Jóźwiak's goal in a

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

elimination match against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

at the

Puskás Aréna Puskás Aréna () is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium in the Zugló, 14th district (Zugló) of Budapest, Hungary. The stadium's construction started in 2017 and was finished before the end of 2019. It is an all-seater with a capacity o ...

, which concluded in a 3–3 draw. On 8 June 2021, he netted a goal in a friendly match against

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. On 23 June 2021, he provided an assist to Robert Lewandowski's goal to make it 1–2 in a

group stage match against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, which ended in Poland's 2–3 loss. On 26 November 2022, he scored the first goal in Poland's 2–0 victory over

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

in a group stage match at the

. On 7 June 2024, he scored a goal in a friendly match against

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

at the

National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football ...

contributing to Poland's 3–1 victory. He provided an assist in the Euro 2024 group stage match against the Netherlands. On 15 October 2024, he scored a goal in a 3–3 draw against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

in the group stage of the

. On 8 June 2025, Zieliński was named new

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the Poland national team by head coach Michał Probierz, taking over from

Style of play

Zieliński usually plays the left-sided midfielder role as a part of the midfield three or two, and has occasionally played on the right side to implement specific in-game tactics. Exceptional ball control, precision passing and the ability of maneuvering through tight spaces are seen as his distinctive strengths. One of Zieliński's other notable skills on the pitch is the ability to shoot with either foot equally well. His ambidexterity had been perfected with much work and practice since early childhood. His consistency, the ability to read the game and crucial passes made him one of the pillars of the team during his spell at Napoli contributing to his club winning the

in 2020 and the Serie A title in 2023. Zieliński cites

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; ; ''Zineddin Lyazid Zidan''; ; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as an attacking midfi ...

and

as his footballing inspirations. He also admired

Tomáš Rosický Tomáš Rosický (; born 4 October 1980) is a Czech former professional association football, footballer who was the Captain (association football), captain of the Czech Republic national football team, Czech Republic national team for a ten-y ...

in his youth.

Personal life

His older brothers Tomasz and Paweł are also footballers. On 15 June 2019, Zieliński married Laura Słowiak with whom he has a son, Maksymilian (born 2021). In 2021, he passed an

Italian language Italian (, , or , ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. It evolved from the colloquial Latin of the Roman Empire. Italian is the least divergent language from Latin, together with Sardinian language, Sardinian. It is ...

exam at the B2 level at the

University of Naples The University of Naples Federico II (; , ) is a public university, public research university in Naples, Campania, Italy. Established in 1224 and named after its founder, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, it is the oldest public, s ...

. On 9 January 2023, he was awarded the Father Albert Medal for establishing and funding two children's homes in

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a historical and geographical region mostly located in Poland with small portions in the Czech Republic and Germany. It is the western part of the region of Silesia. Its largest city is Wrocław. The first ...

. On 6 October 2023, Zieliński also formally received the Italian citizenship. On 27 December 2023, he became an honorary citizen of

Giugliano in Campania Giugliano in Campania (), also known simply as Giugliano, is a city and (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, Italy. A suburb of Naples, as of 2025, it has 124,633 inhabitants, making it the most populated Italian city t ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Poland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zieliński goal.''

Honours

Napoli *

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

: 2019–20 Inter Milan *

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

runner-up: 2024–25 *

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

runner-up: 2024–25 Poland U21 * Four Nations Tournament: 2014–15 Individual * Polish Footballer of the Year: 2023

References

External links

Profile
at the S.S.C. Napoli website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zielinski, Piotr Living people 1994 births People from Ząbkowice Śląskie Footballers from Lower Silesian Voivodeship Polish emigrants to Italy Naturalised citizens of Italy Men's association football midfielders Polish men's footballers Poland men's international footballers Zagłębie Lubin players Udinese Calcio players Empoli FC players SSC Napoli players Inter Milan players Serie A players Polish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Polish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Poland men's under-21 international footballers Poland men's youth international footballers UEFA Euro 2016 players 2018 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2020 players 2022 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2024 players 21st-century Polish sportsmen