.jpg) Barrow in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Musa Barrow | ||
| Date of birth | 14 November 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Banjul, The Gambia | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Al Taawoun | ||
| Number | 99 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Hawks | |||
| 2016–2018 | Atalanta | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2021 | Atalanta | 41 | (4) |
| 2019–2021 | → Bologna (loan) | 56 | (17) |
| 2021–2023 | Bologna | 66 | (9) |
| 2023– | Al Taawoun | 17 | (6) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Gambia U23 | 1 | (1) |
| 2018– | Gambia | 36 | (6) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 February 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17:26, 14 June 2023 (UTC) | |||
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]
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]
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]
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.
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]
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]
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]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| 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 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | 8 | 4 | |
| Career total | 165 | 31 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 174 | 37 | ||
| 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 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 36 | 6 | |
| 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 |
