For the current Inter Milan squad, several players are publicly identified with Christianity, for example, Marcus Thuram and Federico Dimarco have been seen making the sign of the cross and expressing gratitude after goals. On the other note, other players have publicly observed Islam, such as Hakan Çalhanoğlu, who has spoken about his faith and observed Ramadan during his career. Meanwhile, some teammates integrate their beliefs into social media and celebrations, while others keep them private.
Carlos Augusto, Dimarco, Bastoni, Sučić, and many other players are part of Christianity. Check out how many players have ties to the Muslim and Christian faiths below.
Table of Contents
Yann Sommer Religion
Yann Sommer is a Swiss professional footballer who has not publicly declared a specific religious affiliation. Yann Sommer was born on 17 December 1988 in Morges, Switzerland. Both his father and his uncle played as goalkeepers, and he started in a football school at age four. Sommer’s youth path began in the Basel area, with spells at Herrliberg and Concordia Basel before he joined FC Basel’s academy in 2005 at age 16. He later spent time on loan at FC Vaduz and later with another loan at Grasshopper Club Zürich. Sommer later returned to Basel after his loan spells and went on to make 170 appearances across four very successful seasons, winning four consecutive Swiss Super League titles. In 2014, he moved to the German side Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he remained for nine years, before signing for Bayern Munich in January 2023 and winning the Bundesliga title there.
On 7 August 2023, Sommer joined Inter Milan for a reported €6 million. With Inter, he won two Serie A titles and a Coppa Italia and helped Inter reach the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2025 and was named as the goalkeeper in the Serie A Team of the Year, having kept 19 clean sheets in 34 Serie A matches. Sommer is set to leave Inter Milan as a free agent. His three-year contract expires at the end of June, and both the club and player have opted not to renew.
Josep Martínez Religion
Josep Martínez Riera is a Spanish professional footballer whose religious belief is not publicly known or stated. Josep Martínez was born on 27 May 1998 in Alzira, Valencia, and plays as a backup goalkeeper to Yann Sommer. Martínez began playing football at his hometown club, UD Alzira, before he joined Barcelona’s youth academy in 2015. After spending two years in Barcelona, Martínez joined Las Palmas in 2017 and played regularly for their reserve side before making his senior debut in the Segunda División. His performances there earned him a move to RB Leipzig in 2020. Later on, he then moved to Genoa, where he helped the club win promotion to Serie A. In 2024, Martínez signed for Inter Milan for €15 million.
Stefan de Vrij Religion
Stefan de Vrij is a Dutch professional footballer who is not religious, although he was raised in a Christian home, but he does not actively practice a faith himself and does not participate in the pre-match group prayers frequently held by his national team teammates. Stefan de Vrij was born on 5 February 1992 in Ouderkerk aan den IJssel, the Netherlands, and began playing football with local club VV Spirit before debuting as a professional for Feyenoord at age 17. He spent five seasons at the Eredivisie club, serving briefly as captain, before joining Lazio in July 2014.
In 2018, De Vrij joined Inter Milan on a free transfer. Across eight seasons, he won three Serie A titles (2021, 2024, and 2026), three Coppa Italias, and three Supercoppas and was also named Serie A Best Defender for the 2019–20 season.
De Vrij made his senior debut for the Netherlands in August 2012 against Belgium. He played a major role at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where the Netherlands finished third and he scored against Spain in the opening match. He also played at UEFA Euro 2020 and Euro 2024, reaching the semi-finals of the latter.
Manuel Akanji Religion
Manuel Obafemi Akanji is a Swiss professional footballer who has not publicly disclosed his personal religious belief. Manuel Akanji was born on 19 July 1995 in Wiesendangen, Switzerland, to a Swiss mother and a Nigerian father. He is the youngest of three children, and his older sister Sarah is a former footballer for FC Winterthur Frauen and a Social Democratic Party of Switzerland politician. Akanji started playing football at local club Wiesendangen when he was nine before moving to Winterthur in 2007 to spend another six years. In the summer of 2015, Akanji moved to FC Basel, where he won back-to-back Swiss Super League titles and a Swiss Cup and made his Champions League debut in the 2017-18 season. Following his success with Basel, Akanji was sold to Borussia Dortmund during the winter transfer window of 2018, and he spent four and a half seasons there, winning the 2019 DFL-Supercup and DFB-Pokal in 2021.
In 2022, Akanji moved to Manchester City, winning a continental treble in his first season with the club before his loan spell at Inter Milan. After a successful loan spell, Akanji officially joined Inter Milan on a permanent transfer after the club activated the €15 million buy option.
Internationally, Akanji made his debut for Switzerland in 2017. He played at the 2018, 2022, and 2026 World Cups alongside two UEFA European Championships, in 2020 and 2024.
Carlos Augusto Religion
Carlos Augusto Zopolato Neves, known as Carlos Augusto, is a Brazilian professional footballer who is a Christian. Carlos Augusto was born on 7 January 1999 in Campinas, Brazil, and he plays as a left-back or left midfielder for Inter Milan and the Brazil national team. When Carlos was 12 years old, he began playing on the youth team of Corinthians and made his first-team debut in 2018. Two years later, in 2020, he moved to Monza in Italy, helping the club to gain their first promotion to Serie A after winning the promotion play-off final against Pisa.
On 15 August 2023, Carlos joined Inter Milan on a one-year loan before he signed permanently in July 2024 for a €13 million fee. With Inter, he has won 4 major trophies, including back-to-back Serie A Scudetto in 2023–24 and 2025–26, one Coppa Italia, and one Supercoppa Italiana.
Carlos holds an Italian passport through his great-grandparents.
Yann Aurel Bisseck Religion
Yann Aurel Ludger Bisseck is a German professional footballer who is a Christian believer. Yann Aurel Bisseck was born on 29 November 2000 in Cologne, Germany, to Cameroonian parents. Bisseck grew up in Cologne and joined FC Köln’s youth academy in 2007. Ten years later, in 2017, he made his Bundesliga debut at just 16 years and 11 months old, becoming the youngest German player ever to appear in the Bundesliga. After his breakthrough at Köln, his career became more complicated. He had loan spells at Holstein Kiel, Roda JC in the Netherlands, and Vitória Guimarães in Portugal. In 2021, he moved to Aarhus in Denmark, first on loan before Aarhus made his transfer permanent in 2022.
That form earned him a €7 million transfer to Inter Milan in 2023. In late 2024, he signed a five-year contract extension keeping him tied to Inter Milan until June 30, 2029. His gross annual salary is approximately €1.9 million, or roughly €36,923 per week.
Bisseck represented Germany at the youth level from the U17s up to the U21s. He notably played in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup and later captained the Germany U21 team at the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
Federico Dimarco Religion
Federico Dimarco is an Italian professional footballer who identifies as Christian and is of Roman Catholic heritage. Federico Dimarco was born on 10 November 1997 in Milan, Italy. He is the son of Italian parents, and he grew up in the Porta Romana district. When Dimarco was seven years old, he began playing on the youth team of Calvairate before Inter signed him into their academy. He made his first-team debut for Inter on 11 December 2014 in a Champions League match against Qarabag, and his Serie A debut followed in May 2015. After that, he gained experience through loan spells at Ascoli, Empoli, Sion, Parma, and Hellas Verona. Subsequently, Inter brought him back in 2021, where he led Inter to the 2023 UEFA Champions League Final and secured the 2023–24 Serie A Scudetto. Additionally, Dimarco made history by becoming the first defender to win the Serie A Best Overall Player (MVP) award after breaking the league record for defender assists in a single season (17).
Dimarco has represented Italy across every single youth level, from U15s through U21s, before earning his senior international debut in 2022. He was a member of the squads that finished as runners-up at both the 2013 UEFA European U17 Championship and the 2016 UEFA European U19 Championship. In 2017, he helped drive Italy to a historic bronze medal at the FIFA U20 World Cup.
Alessandro Bastoni Religion
Alessandro Bastoni Cavaliere OMRI is an Italian professional footballer who is a practicing Catholic. Bastoni, who plays primarily as a center-back for Inter Milan and the Italy national team, was born on 13 April 1999 in Casalmaggiore, Italy. He is the son of Nicola Bastoni, a former professional left-back who played for U.S. Cremonese and was later a youth coach. Bastoni started out at local club US Cannatese before joining Atalanta’s academy at age seven, making his senior debut in 2016, first appearing in the Coppa Italia and then in Serie A soon after.
Inter signed Bastoni in 2017 for €31 million but loaned him back to Atalanta and later to Parma. In 2019, he returned to Inter and broke into the first team under Antonio Conte, winning multiple major honors, including three Serie A titles.
Piotr Zieliński Religion
Piotr Sebastian Zieliński is a Polish professional footballer who is a practicing Roman Catholic. Piotr Zieliński was born on 20 May 1994 in Ząbkowice Śląskie, Poland, and he plays as a midfielder for Inter Milan and the Poland national team. Zieliński started his career at his local club, Orzeł Ząbkowice Śląskie, where he was coached by his father. He later moved through the youth academy at Zagłębie Lubin before leaving for Italy as a teenager. At 17, he moved abroad to join Udinese, where he was promoted to the senior squad and made his first-team debut in 2012. He then spent two seasons on loan at Empoli from 2014 to 2016. Later on, he joined fellow Italian club Napoli for a reported €16 million fee in 2016. Over eight seasons, he established himself as a key player of the team, winning the Coppa Italia and helping the club to win the first Serie A title in 33 years.
On 3 July 2024, Zieliński moved to Inter Milan on a free transfer following the expiration of his Napoli contract. In the recently completed 2025–26 club campaign, he recorded 6 goals and 3 assists in 34 Serie A matches, helping Inter secure the league championship.
At the international level, Zieliński has earned over 100 caps for Poland since 2013. He has been a fixed starter across major tournament cycles, representing Poland at UEFA Euro 2016, Euro 2020, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In 2023, he was named the Polish Footballer of the Year.
Petar Sučić Religion
Petar Sučić is a Croatian professional footballer who is a devout Catholic. Petar Sučić was born on 25 October 2003 in Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Croatian parents. He started playing football at a young age with NK Sport Prevent Bugojno, then moved through Iskra Bugojno and Zrinjski Mostar. He then signed for Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb in January 2022 and initially played for the reserve side before going on loan back to Zrinjski, where he won both the Bosnian league and national cup.
In June 2025, Dinamo Zagreb sold Sučić to Inter Milan for an initial fee of €14 million plus performance bonuses. In his second season at Inter Milan, they won the 2026 domestic double: the Serie A title and the Italian Cup.
Sučić initially represented Bosnia and Herzegovina at the U19 and U21 youth levels, even captaining the U19 squad. However, in March 2024, he officially chose to represent Croatia at the senior international level. Since then, he has played for Croatia at the UEFA Nations League and at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Luis Henrique Religion
Luis Henrique Tomaz de Lima, commonly known as Luis Henrique, is a Brazilian professional footballer who is a devout Christian. He was born in João Pessoa, Brazil, to a Brazilian father and a Brazilian-French mother. Henrique holds dual Brazilian and French nationalities through his mother’s lineage. Henrique started his career at Três Passos before moving to Botafogo through a club partnership. He made his senior debut for Botafogo in December 2019 and attracted early interest from Bayern Munich and Juventus. In 2020, he joined Ligue 1 club Olympique Marseille for a fee around €8 million and later went on a temporary loan back to Botafogo in 2022 and then went back to Marseille before joining Inter Milan in June 2025 on a five-year contract.
Inter Milan paid €23 million plus add-ons to Marseille to sign Luis Henrique.
Davide Frattesi Religion
Davide Frattesi is an Italian professional footballer who identifies as Christian. Davide Frattesi was born on September 22, 1999, in Rome, Italy, and he plays as a central midfielder for Inter Milan as well as for the Italy national team. When Frattesi was six years old, he began playing on the youth team of Lazio before moving to city rivals Roma. At Roma, he won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa at the Primavera youth level. In 2017, he signed with Sassuolo. To gain senior experience, he completed consecutive Serie B loan spells at Ascoli, Empoli, and Monza. He returned to break into Sassuolo’s first team, making 75 appearances and scoring 11 goals.
In mid-2023, Frattesi joined Inter Milan initially on loan before making his permanent move in 2024.
Andy Diouf Religion
Andy Alune Diouf is a French professional footballer who is widely reported to be a Muslim. Andy was born on May 17, 2003, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. He is the son of Senegalese and French parents, and he grew up in Nanterre. He began playing football at age six with Garenne-Colombes before moving to the Paris Saint-Germain academy in 2012 and then AC Boulogne-Billancourt in 2015. Three years later, he joined Stade Rennais and made his professional debut for Rennes in May 2021 against PSG. He then spent the 2022-23 season on loan at Swiss side Basel, helping the club to the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-finals, and was officially named the tournament’s Best Young Player.
After Basel, he joined Lens permanently for €14 million in the summer of 2023. He spent two seasons with the club before securing a major €20 million transfer to Inter Milan in August 2025.
Born in France, Diouf is of Senegalese descent. He is a youth international for France.
Hakan Çalhanoğlu Religion
Hakan Çalhanoğlu is a Turkish professional footballer who is a practicing Muslim. Hakan Çalhanoğlu was born on February 8, 1994, in Mannheim, Germany, to Turkish parents originally from Bayburt, Turkey. He spent eight years in the youth academy of SV Waldhof Mannheim before transferring to Karlsruher SC at age 15 in 2009. Two years later, he moved to top-flight side Hamburger SV but was loaned back to Karlsruher for the 2012-13 season. His performance in his first Bundesliga season earned him a €14.5 million transfer to Bayer Leverkusen in 2014. Later, he joined AC Milan in 2017 before joining city rivals Inter on a free transfer in the summer of 2021. At Inter, he evolved into an irreplaceable tempo-controller, helping the club secure 2 Serie A titles and 3 Coppa Italia trophies
Çalhanoğlu was born and raised in Germany, but he chose to represent Turkey at the international level. He made his senior debut in 2013 and was part of their squad at the UEFA European Championship in 2016, 2020, and 2024 and the FIFA World Cup in 2026. Additionally, in 2022, Çalhanoğlu was named national team captain for Turkey following the international retirement of Burak Yılmaz.
Çalhanoğlu’s younger brother, Muhammed Çalhanoğlu, and his cousin, Kerim Çalhanoğlu, are also professional football players.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan Religion
Henrikh Mkhitaryan is an Armenian professional footballer who is a Christian and a member of the Armenian Apostolic Church, one of the oldest Christian institutions in the world. Henrikh Mkhitaryan was born on 21 January 1989 in Yerevan, Armenia, and he grew up partly in France before returning to Armenia after his father’s illness and death. Mkhitaryan’s father, Hamlet Mkhitaryan, was a prominent striker for FC Ararat Yerevan during the 1980s.
After returning from France to Yerevan in 1995, Mkhitaryan joined the youth academy of FC Pyunik. At age 14, he spent four months on a formative training trial in Brazil with São Paulo FC. In 2006, Mkhitaryan made his senior debut for Pyunik and later moved to Metalurh Donetsk in Ukraine. After a season there, he joined Shakhtar Donetsk, and in the 2012–13 season, he set a Ukrainian Premier League record by scoring 25 goals in a single league campaign and was named the league’s Footballer of the Year. In 2013, he moved to the Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund for a then-club-record €27.5 million fee. At Dortmund, he was voted Bundesliga Player of the Year in 2015–16 after leading the league with 15 assists. From there he went to Manchester United, then Arsenal, then Roma on an initial loan, where he signed permanently in 2020 before joining Inter Milan in 2022. On 3 May 2026, he scored in a 2–0 win over Parma, helping his club secure the 2025–26 Serie A title.
Mkhitaryan is universally regarded as the greatest player in modern Armenian football history. He is Armenia’s all-time top goal scorer, scoring 32 goals in 95 matches, and was named Armenian Footballer of the Year a record 12 times, including seven years consecutively from 2011 to 2017. In March 2022, he officially retired from international football.
In addition to his native Armenian, Mkhitaryan is fluent in French, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, English, Italian, and German. He attributes his knowledge of Russian to his maternal grandmother, who was of Russian ethnicity. His sister, Monika Mkhitaryan, works in the football industry at UEFA headquarters.
Nicolò Barella Religion
Nicolò Barella Cavaliere OMRI is an Italian professional footballer who has not publicly disclosed a specific personal religion, but he comes from a Catholic background. Nicolò Barella was born on 7 February 1997 in Cagliari, Sardinia, and he plays as a central midfielder for Inter Milan and the Italy national team. He began training at the prestigious Gigi Riva Football School in Cagliari and later joined the Cagliari Calcio Youth Academy in 2006 at the age of nine. Subsequently, he made his first-team debut for Cagliari in the Coppa Italia in January 2015 and his Serie A debut later that year. In January 2016, he was sent on loan to Como in Serie B before returning to Cagliari, having played as a first choice for the second part of the season. Three months later, he became the youngest captain ever in the history of Cagliari, at the age of 20 years, 10 months, and 9 days.
In mid-2019, Barella joined Inter Milan from Cagliari on an initial one-year loan deal with a mandatory obligation to buy for a total package worth roughly €32 million, and in June 2024, he signed a contract extension with Inter, keeping him at the club until June 30, 2029. His new contract pays him a gross base salary of €12 million per year, or €231,538 per week.
Barella represented Italy at youth levels, from Under-15 to Under-21, before making his senior debut in 2018. He won the UEFA Euro 2020 with Italy.
Marcus Thuram Religion
Marcus Lilian Thuram-Ulien is a French professional footballer who has not publicly identified with any specific religion. Marcus Thuram was born on 6 August 1997 in Parma, Italy, while his father, Lilian Thuram, was playing for Parma Calcio. He grew up first in Italy, then moved with his family to Barcelona and later settled in France. Thuram began his professional career at Sochaux in 2015, where he played in three Ligue 2 seasons and won the Coupe Gambardella, before moving to Guingamp in 2017. He then joined Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2019, and in July 2023, he joined Inter Milan on a free transfer after his Gladbach contract ended. At Inter, he won the Serie A title in his first season.
Thuram became a senior France international in 2020 and has since been part of major tournament squads. He was part of their squads at the UEFA European Championship in 2020 and 2024 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, finishing as runner-up at the latter. Additionally, on 14 May 2026, Thuram was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Marcus Thuram was named after Jamaican political activist and Pan-Africanist thinker Marcus Garvey, and he is of Guadeloupean descent through his father.
Lautaro Martínez Religion
Lautaro Javier Martínez is an Argentine professional footballer who is a practicing Christian. Lautaro Martínez was born on 22 August 1997 in Bahía Blanca, Argentina, and plays as a center-forward for Inter Milan, which he captains, and the Argentina national team. He began playing football at local club Liniers before joining Racing Club’s academy as a teenager. In 2015, he made his senior debut for Racing Club and spent four seasons before signing with Inter Milan in 2018 in a transfer worth €22.7 million.
At Inter, he has gone on to win three Serie A titles and three Coppa Italias and reached the final of the UEFA Europa League in 2020 and the UEFA Champions League in 2023 and 2025. In his first season as club captain, he finished as league top scorer in the 2023–24 season, winning his first Capocannoniere award and the official Serie A Most Valuable Player (MVP) title, cruising to Inter’s historic 20th Scudetto. On April 5, 2026, a brace against Roma pushed him to 173 goals, leaving him alone as the 3rd highest goalscorer in Inter Milan history.
Martínez made his senior debut for Argentina in 2018 and has won the 2021 Copa América, 2022 FIFA World Cup, and 2024 Copa América, winning the Golden Boot as top scorer of the latter and scoring the winner in the final.
Ange-Yoan Bonny Religion
Ange-Yoan Bonny is an Ivorian professional footballer who is religious but does not publicly specify his exact denomination. In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, he has stated, “I’m very religious, so I try to treat everyone with respect. Just because we are footballers doesn’t make us better than anyone else.” Ange-Yoan Bonny was born on 25 October 2003 in Aubervilliers, France, and has Ivorian roots, as both of his parents immigrated to France from the Ivory Coast. Bonny started playing football at La Rochelle Villeneuve and then developed through Périgny, Chambray, Tours FC, and Châteauroux. In 2020, he made his Ligue 2 debut for Châteauroux at age 17 and scored his first professional goal soon after. In the summer of 2021, Parma signed him, and he scored five goals and gave 10 assists to secure Parma’s Serie B championship title and promotion in 2024.
On 5 July 2025, Bonny completed a €23 million transfer to Inter Milan. He wrapped up his debut 2025/26 season with 5 goals and 4 assists across 1,129 minutes of domestic action, lifting the Serie A league trophy.
Due to his dual-citizenship background, Bonny initially represented France in the France U19, U20, and U21 squads before FIFA approved his official multinational switch. He has since represented the Ivory Coast national team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Pio Esposito Religion
Francesco Pio Esposito is an Italian professional footballer who comes from a Catholic family background, though he has not made many personal statements about his own faith. He was born on 28 June 2005 in Castellammare di Stabia, Italy, and plays as a striker for Inter Milan and the Italy national team. He grew up alongside his two older brothers, Salvatore and Sebastiano, who are both footballers. Esposito joined Brescia’s youth academy at age six before his move to Inter Milan’s academy in 2014. Esposito became Inter Under-17’s starting striker in 2021-22 and scored 21 goals in 24 appearances across league and playoff matches. The following season, he captained the Primavera side and scored 16 goals in 41 appearances in all competitions.
In summer 2023, he joined Serie B side Spezia on loan for two consecutive seasons. After a productive spell in Serie B, he returned to Inter. With Inter, he registered 35 Serie A appearances and 9 Champions League games, helping Inter claim a domestic Scudetto and Coppa Italia double.
Esposito made his Italy U17 debut in 2022 and then enjoyed a major 2023 with the national teams. He finished runner-up at the U20 World Cup, won the U19 European Championship, and then became a regular with Italy U21. In September 2025, he debuted for the Italian senior team in a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Estonia.