Why Troilo’s Argentina call-up is being labelled ‘revenge’ on Inter midfielder Barella
MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 22: Mariano Troilo of Parma Calcio celebrates after scoring their team's first goal during the Serie A match between AC Milan and Parma Calcio 1913 at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on February 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Parma defender Mariano Troilo has recently earned his first call-up to the Argentina national team squad from Lionel Scaloni, which media outlets in Italy are calling ‘revenge’ on Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella following a spat between the pair at the end of last season. Here’s what happened.
Troilo is one of seven Serie A players involved in the latest Argentina national team squad, along with Roma trio Leonardo Balerdi, Matias Soule and Santiago Castro, Como pair Nico Paz and Maxi Perrone, as well as Fiorentina’s Franco Mastantuono.
23-year-old centre-back Troilo has been part of a Parma backline that has kept consecutive clean sheets in Serie A over the last fortnight.
Troilo gets the last laugh over Barella
Troilo made headlines in Italy towards the end of the 2026-27 season when Inter defeated Parma 2-0 in San Siro; the game that mathematically won them the Scudetto.
Troilo and Barella had clashed a few times towards the end of that game, and Cristian Chivu later decided to bring the Italy international for fear of him getting into serious trouble with the referees.
The incident began when Troilo had trodden on Barella’s foot, which led to an argument and a bit of pushing and shoving inside the penalty area. They had more words for each other over the following few minutes as well.
Then, when Barella was brought off and approached teammate Marcus Thuram on the substitutes bench, he reportedly said: “Do you know what he told me? ‘Shut up, Bobo, you’re out of the World Cup’,” referring to Italy’s play-off heartbreak against Bosnia and Herzegovina a few weeks earlier.
Barella then added: “They don’t even know who he is in Argentina.”
It is Troilo, however, who gets the last laugh in this situation following his first call-up to the Argentina national team squad earlier this week.
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