Romano Floriani Mussolini, the great-grandson of Dictator Benito Mussolini will play in Italy’s Serie A, Italy’s top football league. Credit: ZG 90 – CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons –
Romano Floriani Mussolini, the great-grandson of Dictator Benito Mussolini will play in Italy’s Serie A. The 22-year-old joined Italian top-flight team Cremonese on loan, and told online Sports publication “The Athletic” that he wants to focus on football rather than on his surname.
Mussolini primarily plays at right-back and joined La Cremo after they managed to secure promotion from Serie B from his parent club Lazio. The player is also the son of Italian Politician Alessandra Mussolini.
At his first press conference he said that he is here, to “play football,” and claimed that his surname “bothers other people more than me.”
Mussolini, who awaits his Serie A debut says his surname never caused him any problems
In quotes taken by the Italian Press Agency Ansa, Mussolini said, “My surname has never caused me any problems and, from my point of view, the less said about it, the better.” He added, “I’m here to express myself on the pitch, nothing else.”
Last season, Mussolini was on loan at Serie B club Juve Stabia, and scored his first goal in December 2024. This moment came with its fair share of controversy as the stadium announcer called his first name, “Romano,” seven times, and the fans responded by chanting “Mussolini” while allegedly giving fascist salutes.
Benvenuto alla Cremo, 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐢 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢! 🩶❤️
👉 https://t.co/AWfKL4JpV1#TuttaUnAltraMusica #SeiGrAndeSolamenteTu #Cremonese #Cremona #SerieAEnilive pic.twitter.com/SXbB29x0x7
— U.S. Cremonese (@USCremonese) July 14, 2025
Following this incident, Juve Stabia denied the fans made fascist gestures. In a statement they said, “When the name of the scoring player is announced, we raise our arms to the sky as a sign of the team that is in our heart and which represents the city. This was once again the case with this (Mussolini’s) goal.”
Romano dismissed the controversy as “pointless,” stating that he primarily discusses football–not politics–with his family, adding that he wants to be recognized for the way he plays, not for his name.
Romano’s parents agreed that the player would have two surnames
Mussolini’s father Mario Floriani agreed with his mother Alessandra, that he would have two surnames, Floriani and Mussolini, and he could choose which one to use first when he was an adult.
Alessandra, Mussolini’s mom, said that the Italian civil and church authorities agreed to this as an exception, as in Italy, only until 2022 the top court ruled that children will be given their mother’s and father’s surnames at birth. The court also ruled that the practice of only given children their fathers’ surnames was “constitutionally illegitimate.”
During his time at Juve Stabia, Romano chose to wear ‘F. Mussolini’ as the name on the back of his shirt.