Davide Santon

2.1. Inter Milan (First Stint)

Davide Santon joined the Inter Milan senior team for the 2008-09 pre-season training in South Tyrol and participated in training sessions during the first half of the season. Although manager José Mourinho named Santon in the lineup for a September Champions League match against Panathinaikos and the subsequent three games, he did not feature.

Santon made his professional debut on January 21, 2009, playing the entire match in the Coppa Italia quarter-final victory against Roma. Four days later, on January 25, he made his Serie A debut in a 1-0 win over Sampdoria. As Maicon was the established right-back, Santon debuted as a left-back. His European debut came on February 24 in a home draw against Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League, where he was tasked with marking Cristiano Ronaldo. Santon's performance in containing Ronaldo garnered significant praise, with Ronaldo himself commenting, "I was impressed by Santon, he is a really interesting lad and a great footballer." Mourinho also lauded Santon's personality and tactical versatility, leading to him being handed a starting role for subsequent matches. On February 15, 2009, Santon started in his first Milan Derby against AC Milan. He made 13 league starts and two substitute appearances in his debut season, contributing to Inter's capture of the Serie A title.

In 2009, former Italy national team head coach Marcello Lippi described Santon as "a predestined player that reminds him of a young Paolo Maldini."

The 2009-10 season saw Santon make his first appearance against Parma in the third game of the season, followed by a start against Cagliari. However, his progress was hampered by injuries. He sustained a right knee lateral meniscus injury while on international duty in November 2009, sidelining him until the New Year. He returned in January as a substitute against Bari and was called back into the starting eleven to replace the injured Cristian Chivu. His return was short-lived as he injured the same knee again after an early return from the previous injury, requiring further surgery and sidelining him for another three to five weeks.

During the 2010-11 season, Santon initially served as an understudy to Cristian Chivu. Following injuries to both Maicon and Chivu, Santon returned to the starting line-up in November, though he missed the Derby della Madonnina against Milan and matchday 5 of the Champions League. Due to an injury crisis at Inter, he even played twice as a right wing-forward, notably in a 5-2 win against Parma, where manager Rafael Benítez preferred Iván Córdoba and Javier Zanetti in both full-back positions.

2.2. Cesena (Loan)

On January 31, 2011, the final day of the transfer window, Santon was sent on loan to Cesena as part of a deal that saw Yuto Nagatomo join Inter. Santon reportedly expressed shock at the move, stating he was "disappointed in himself" but vowed to return to Inter a stronger player. In response to this transfer, Italy U-21 manager Ciro Ferrara appointed Santon as the team's captain to show trust and expectation. He returned to Inter in the summer of 2011. Under new coach Gian Piero Gasperini, Santon often played as a wing-back in their 3-4-3 formation during friendlies. However, near the end of the summer transfer window, Inter decided to keep Davide Faraoni as a backup wing-back and proceeded to sell Santon.

2.3. Newcastle United

On August 30, 2011, Santon signed a five-year contract with Premier League club Newcastle United for an undisclosed fee, which Inter later reported as 4.00 M EUR. He made his debut for Newcastle on October 16, coming on as a second-half substitute against Tottenham Hotspur. In December, he made his first start away to Norwich City, followed by his full home debut the next week against Swansea City. Santon steadily secured a regular starting position at left-back. On May 2, 2012, he assisted Papiss Cissé's first goal in a 2-0 victory over Chelsea.

During the 2012-13 season, Santon became a consistent starter. He provided three assists: two to Jonás Gutiérrez and Moussa Sissoko against Chelsea, and one to Demba Ba against Wigan Athletic. He also contributed to an own goal scored by Jos Hooiveld of Southampton. On March 17, 2013, Santon scored his first and only goal for Newcastle, and of his professional career, in a 2-1 defeat to Wigan. On April 4, in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final against Benfica, a misplaced backpass from Santon allowed Lima to score. Following the incident, he was photographed holding his hands up in apology to the travelling supporters, an image that became a defining moment of his Newcastle career. Three days later, he suffered a hamstring injury against Fulham that forced him off early in the first half. This injury kept him out for the remainder of the season, and he missed the second leg against Benfica, which saw Newcastle exit the competition.

In the following season, Santon remained a regular in the team until February 2014, when he was sidelined by a knee problem and tonsillitis. He made his return on March 29 as a second-half substitute against Southampton, but allowed Rickie Lambert to score in a 4-0 loss for the Saints. He was again photographed apologizing to the supporters and later stated they had the right to boo the team. Although he played the full 90 minutes against Manchester United, he missed four subsequent matches due to another hamstring injury and was an unused substitute for the final match of the season against Liverpool.

The 2014-15 season saw Santon miss much of Newcastle's campaign due to another knee injury. By the end of 2014, he had returned to the squad for a home match against Everton. However, his only appearance for the club that season came in an FA Cup third round loss against Leicester City. Following the announcement of his loan return to Inter Milan, Santon's fiancée, Chloe Sanderson, publicly stated that he did not want to leave Newcastle and had been "fully fit for a while, with no chance to play," further criticizing the club's hierarchy for their "only intentions are to make [money]."

2.4. Inter Milan (Second Stint)

After losing his first-team place at Newcastle to Paul Dummett, Santon returned to Inter Milan in the January 2015 transfer window on loan, with an option for a permanent transfer in the summer. His return was also significant as he was eligible for one of the four club-trained player quotas in UEFA competitions, which Inter needed to fill. The loan move was made permanent in the summer of 2015, with the transfer, including agent fees and other costs, amounting to 4.89 M EUR for Inter.

In the 2016 transfer market, Santon was reportedly available, with Sunderland engaging in negotiations with Inter. He also allegedly failed a medical ahead of a proposed move to West Ham United. Despite these rumors, Santon remained in Inter's squad, partly due to the club's limited number of players eligible for the UEFA homegrown quota in the Europa League (only himself, Marco Andreolli, and Jonathan Biabiany were available). Furthermore, Serie A also imposed a similar homegrown rule. Due to penalties for breaching UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations, Inter's European squad was reduced to a maximum of 22 players, ultimately featuring a 21-man squad with one youth product quota unused. Santon was an unused substitute in Inter's opening UEFA Europa League match but was the starting full-back in their 2-1 win over defending Serie A champions Juventus in the Derby d'Italia.

After Frank de Boer was sacked as manager in 2016, Santon was rarely used by new coach Stefano Pioli. In the 2017-18 season, he was included in Luciano Spalletti's pre-season camp in July 2017. However, he was left out of the squad for the Asia tour due to injury. He found limited playing time behind Yuto Nagatomo and Dalbert, and later João Cancelo, even after Nagatomo's departure to Galatasaray SK.

2.5. Roma

In June 2018, Santon joined Roma as part of a deal that saw Radja Nainggolan transfer to Inter Milan, with Nicolò Zaniolo also moving to Roma. Santon and Zaniolo underwent medical examinations in Rome on June 25. The transfer was officially completed on June 26, with Santon valued at 9.50 M EUR and signing a four-year contract.

He made his debut for the capital club on August 31, coming off the bench for Rick Karsdorp in a league match against Milan. His Champions League debut with the Giallorossi occurred on October 23, when he started in a 3-0 victory against CSKA Moscow. On October 3, 2019, Santon made his Europa League debut for Roma in a 1-1 away draw against Wolfsberger AC, starting the game at right-back.

Over three years, Santon struggled to secure a permanent starting position, partly due to recurring injuries. He also tested positive for COVID-19 in November 2020. In the 2021-22 season, under new head coach José Mourinho, Santon remained on the fringes of the first-team squad, failing to make any appearances throughout the season.

8.1. Club Statistics

8.2. International Statistics