Patrick Cutrone
An Italian striker whose early promise at AC Milan, marked by a classic poacher's instinct, launched a journeyman career across Europe.
Born 1998 (age 28)·Italian footballer·Birthday: January 3·Generation Z
Biography
Patrick Cutrone emerged from AC Milan's famed youth academy, instantly endearing himself to the Rossoneri faithful with his relentless work ethic and nose for goal. Bursting onto the scene in the 2017-18 season, he became the first teenager to score double-digit goals for Milan in a decade, playing with a passion that felt like a throwback. His early success prompted a big-money move to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League, but his career path since has been one of constant movement across Italy, Spain, and back again. Loans to Fiorentina, Valencia, and Empoli, followed by permanent moves to Como and Monza, have defined a nomadic search for the form he showed in Milan. Despite the shifts, Cutrone remains a symbol of the academy's enduring ability to produce homegrown talents who can, at least for a moment, carry the hopes of a historic club.
Generation Z
1997–2012
Born into smartphones, social media, and school shootings. The most diverse generation in history. Pragmatic about money, fluid about identity, anxious about the climate. They do not remember a world before the internet.
Patrick was born in 1998, placing them squarely in the Generation Z. The events that shaped this generation — social media, climate anxiety, and a pandemic — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Patrick Was Born
The biggest hits of 1998
#1 Movie
Saving Private Ryan
Best Picture
Shakespeare in Love
#1 TV Show
Seinfeld
Patrick's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1998Born
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2003Started school
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2011Became a teenager
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
2014Could drive
Russia annexes Crimea; Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Gas: $3.37/galHome: $160,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Happy" — Pharrell WilliamsBest Picture: Birdman
2016Could vote
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2019Turned 21
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 28 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Broke through at AC Milan, scoring 18 goals in his first full senior season as a teenager.
- Won the 2016-17 UEFA Youth League with AC Milan's youth team, finishing as the competition's top scorer.
- Earned a transfer to the English Premier League with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2019.
- Represented the Italian national team at senior level, making his debut in 2018.
Did You Know?
He is a lifelong AC Milan fan and idolized former striker Filippo Inzaghi.
Cutrone has a large tattoo of a wolf on his back, referencing the nickname of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
He made his Serie A debut coming on as a substitute for Gianluca Lapadula.
“I was born with the Milan jersey on my skin, and I will always carry it in my heart.”
