Introduction
Bryan Cristante (Italian pronunciation: [ˈbrajan kriˈstante]; born 3 March 1995) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Atalanta, on loan from Portuguese club Benfica.
Club career
Early career
Cristante was born in San Vito al Tagliamento but raised in the nearby San Giovanni di Casarsa, where he started playing football as a child. He moved on to Liventina Gorghense, an amateur club in the province of Treviso, before joining A.C. Milan in 2009.
Milan
Throughout his time in the club's youth system he was a member of the under-15 squad who won the Campionato Giovanissimi Nazionali in 2010, scoring eight goals, as well as a member of the under-17 side who won the Campionato Allievi Nazionali in 2011.
He made his professional debut for the club on 6 December 2011, aged 16 years and 278 days, coming on as a substitute for Robinho in a UEFA Champions League group stage match against Viktoria Plzeň, which ended in a 2–2 draw. He thus became the youngest ever Milan player to feature in a Champions League game and third youngest overall.
Cristante was elected as the best player at the Torneo di Viareggio 2013. On 4 March 2013, Cristante signed his first professional contract, which would have kept him at Milan until 2018. He joined the first team squad at the start of the 2013–14 season.
On 10 November 2013 he made his debut in Serie A, coming on as a substitute for Kaká in a match against Chievo Verona, which ended in a 0–0 draw. He scored his first goal for the club on 6 January 2014, set up by the Brazilian in a 3–0 victory at the San Siro against Atalanta.
Benfica
On 1 September 2014, Cristante signed a five-year contract with Portuguese champions Benfica for a transfer fee of €4.84 million.
On 12 December, he debuted in a Primeira Liga victory at Vitória Setúbal (0–5). On 14 January, he scored his first goal for them in a home win against Arouca (4–0) in the third round of league cup.
International career
Cristante is an Italian youth international and has represented them at various levels. He is also eligible for Canada and holds a passport through his father.
On 10 November 2016 he made his debut with the Italy U21 team, in a friendly match lost 3–2 against England in Southampton.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe1 | Other2 | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Milan | 2011–12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2012–13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 1 | ||
| Total | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 1 | |
| Benfica | 2014–15 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 1 |
| 2015–16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 20 | 1 | |
| Palermo | 2015–16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Pescara | 2016–17 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 30 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 47 | 1 | |
1European competitions include the Champions League and Europa League.
2Other tournaments include the Supercoppa Italiana and Taça da Liga.
Honours
Club
- Primeira Liga: 2014–15, 2015–16
- Taça da Liga: 2014–15, 2015–16
Individual
- Torneo di Viareggio – Golden Boy: 2013