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Musa Barrow
	Barrow in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Musa Barrow
Date of birth	14 November 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth	Banjul, The Gambia
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Al Taawoun
Number	99
Youth career
	Hawks
2016–2018	Atalanta
Senior career*
Years	Team
2018–2021	Atalanta
2019–2021	→ Bologna (loan)
2021–2023	Bologna
2023–	Al Taawoun
International career‡
2018	Gambia U23
2018–	Gambia
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 November 2024; ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 October 2024

Musa Barrow (born 14 November 1998) is a Gambian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Saudi Pro League club Al Taawoun and the Gambia national team.^[2]

Club career

Early career

Barrow joined Atalanta in 2016 from The Gambia where he played football locally and in the street, and in his first appearance with the youth squad scored two goals from midfield.^[3] He joined the first team squad in 2018 after scoring 19 goals in 15 games for the youth side.^[4]

Atalanta

Barrow made his professional debut with Atalanta in a 1–0 Coppa Italia loss to Juventus on 30 January 2018.^[5] He made his Serie A debut for Atalanta in a 1–1 tie with Crotone on 10 February 2018.^[6]

He had his first start on 13 April 2018 in an 0–0 home draw against Inter Milan.^[7]

On 18 September 2019, Barrow made his Champions League debut against Dinamo Zagreb.^[8]

Bologna

On 17 January 2020, Barrow moved from Atalanta to Bologna on loan with an obligation to buy for a fee reported to be around €13 million.^[9] Soon after his transfer, Barrow became the starting striker under Siniša Mihajlović and became one of their top scorers of the season despite only arriving in January. On 16 December 2020, Barrow scored a spectacular lob from the middle of the pitch in extra time to earn Bologna a 2–2 draw against Spezia.^[10] He finished the season with 8 goals. On 2 July 2021, Bologna purchased his rights.^[11]

On 2 April 2023, Barrow scored a goal in Bologna's 3–0 win against Udinese and dedicated it to Mihajlović, who died in December 2022 from leukemia.^[12] It was Barrow's third and final Serie A goal of the season, also adding 8 assists.

Al Taawoun

On 4 September 2023, Saudi Pro League side Al Taawoun announced the signing of Barrow on a three-year contract,^[13] for a reported fee of €8 million, which could rise to €10 million with bonuses.^[14] On 16 September, he scored his first goal on his debut in a 3–2 defeat against Al-Ahli.^[15]

Style of play

Barrow plays as a left-sided forward. He often uses his pace to run down the left wing or cut inside and shoot at goal.^[16] He is known for his powerful shooting, having scored several goals in the Serie A from outside the box. He received criticism for his lack of goalscoring, but his agent Luigi Sorrentino stated that it is because he has to sacrifice a lot in the defensive phases of the game.^[17]

International career

On 1 June 2018, Barrow scored the only goal for the Gambia U23s in a 1–0 friendly win over the Morocco U23s.^[18]

Barrow made his debut for the senior Gambia national football team in a 1–1 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification draw with Algeria on 8 September 2018.^[19]

He played and scored 2 goals in the tournament in the 2021 Africa cup of Nations, his national team's first continental tournament, where they made a sensational quarter-final.^[20]^[21]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 27 May 2024^[22]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup^[a]		Continental		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Atalanta	2017–18	Serie A	12	3	2	0	—		14	3
	2018–19		22	1	2	0	6^[b]	4	30	5
	2019–20		7	0	0	0	1^[c]	0	8	0
	Total		41	4	4	0	7	4	52	8
Bologna (loan)	2019–20	Serie A	18	9	0	0	—		18	9
Bologna (loan)	2020–21		38	8	2	1	—		40	9
Bologna	2021–22		34	6	1	0	—		35	6
	2022–23		32	3	3	0	—		35	3
	Total		122	26	6	1	—		128	27
Al Taawoun	2023–24	Saudi Pro League	21	6	3	1	—		24	7
Career total			180	34	13	2	7	4	190	40

^ Includes Coppa Italia, King Cup
^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
^ Appearance in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 14 October 2024^[23]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Gambia	2018	3	0
	2019	6	1
	2020	2	1
	2021	7	0
	2022	11	3
	2023	6	1
	2024	9	3
Total		44	9

Scores and results list Gambia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Barrow goal.

List of international goals scored by Musa Barrow^[23]
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	12 June 2019	Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh, Morocco	Morocco	1–0	1–0	Friendly
2	16 November 2020	Independence Stadium, Bakau, Gambia	Gabon	2–0	2–1	2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
3	16 January 2022	Limbe Stadium, Limbe, Cameroon	Mali	1–1	1–1	2021 Africa Cup of Nations
4	24 January 2022	Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam, Cameroon	Guinea	1–0	1–0	2021 Africa Cup of Nations
5	29 May 2022	Zabeel Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	United Arab Emirates	1–1	1–1	Friendly
6	16 November 2023	National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania	Burundi	1–2	2–3	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
7	8 June 2024	Berkane Municipal Stadium, Berkane, Morocco	Seychelles	2–1	5–1	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
8	4 September 2024	Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium, El Jadida, Morocco	Comoros	1–1	1–1	2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
9	14 October 2024	Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium, El Jadida, Morocco	Madagascar	1–0	1–0	2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification