Bruno Fornaroli Mezza (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbɾuno foɾnaˈɾoli]; born 7 September 1987) is a professional soccer player who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for Melbourne Victory.

[23] His impressive performances for the reserves during matches and training led to him earning his first-team debut on 5 March, in the Copa Libertadores, against Libertad, coming off the bench in the 76th minute.

Sampdoria offered Fornaroli to San Lorenzo for a second season on loan but was rejected due to his high salary demands and his ability within the squad which would only make him a substitute player.

[28][29] In November, after a training session, Fornaroli would be seen in a heated argument with coach Javi López due to the frustration of his playing time.

[30] On 7 January 2010, Fornaroli scored a goal in the quarter-finals first leg of the Copa del Rey, where his side won 3–0, against Atlético Madrid at the Estadio Nuevo Colombino.

[32] Fornaroli continued to struggle to find playing time under new coach Raül Agné, having only scored 2 goals out of 15 appearances in the league by March, leading him to be dropped from the squad for the rest of the season.

[44] However, three days later, Fornaroli signed a three-year contract with Greek side Panathinaikos for an undisclosed fee,[45] after talks with manager Jesualdo Ferreira who requested to have him in his team.

[46] On 31 July, he made his club debut, coming off the bench in the 85th minute, in a 2–0 away win against Motherwell of the Champions League third qualifying round first leg.

[49] On 2 September 2013, Panathinaikos announced the termination of Fornaroli's contract following his poor performances in the attack, ending his season with 0 goals in 17 league appearances for the club.

[53][54] A month since signing, Fornaroli scored his first goal for the club, securing a 3–2 win against Juventud at the Estadio Parque Artigas Las Piedras.

His start to the season received praise and much surprise to those who had doubts over the signing, as Herald Sun described, "shown glimpses of the potential that City fans have borne witness to over the past two months".

[82][83] His impressive record-breaking performances would give his title as "the best specialist forward to have ever played in the A-League," by The Sydney Morning Herald who put him above the likes of notable marquee players such as Dwight Yorke and Alessandro Del Piero.

[83] In April, Fornaroli would receive the A-League Golden Boot for his 23 goals and voted second for the Johnny Warren Medal, losing to Perth Glory's Diego Castro.

[86] On April 17, Fornaroli netted two goals, including a brace featuring an overhead kick, in a 2–0 win against Perth Glory in the elimination final.

[99] On 30 November, Fornaroli led his side to their first trophy in the FFA Cup final, winning 1–0 against Sydney FC and awarded the man of the match at full-time.

[102] On March 5, in his 50th appearance for the club, Fornaroli delivered a man of the match performance by scoring two goals—a free kick and the winning goal—that propelled him to reach a milestone of 40 goals.

[104] A month later, on April Fool's Day, Melbourne City pulled a prank on their Twitter account by announcing that Fornaroli was eligible to represent Australia, stating, "excited to see @BFornaroli in the Green and Gold.

[111] In light of Fornaroli's absence, Melbourne City announced the loan signing of Scottish striker Ross McCormack from Aston Villa on 29 September 2017, to provide a temporary replacement.

[118] However, in the subsequent round against Western Sydney Wanderers, Fornaroli missed a penalty early in the game as his side suffered a 2–1 defeat and were eliminated from the competition.

[119] Manager Warren Joyce expressed his dissatisfaction with Fornaroli's missed penalty, criticising his perceived lack of focus and effectiveness during the match, which deviated from his typically reliable performance.

[122] This continued as he was not included in the team sheet for the next match against Newcastle due to concerns about his attitude and failure to meet the required standards during training.

[123] Warren Joyce explained his decision, emphasizing that every player is treated equally and evaluated on a daily basis to ensure they meet the expected standards.

[125] However, offloading his $1.5 million salary proved to be difficult due to A-League rules prohibiting transfer fees between domestic clubs despite interests from Sydney FC, Adelaide United and Perth Glory.

[129] Fornaroli made his club debut on 7 August, against Western Sydney Wanderers, which resulted in his side being eliminated in injury time during the FFA Cup.

[133] In doing so, he became the quickest player to score 50 goals in A-League history, beating Besart Berisha and Shane Smeltz's joint record in 76 appearances.

[135] Fornaroli scored his 5th goal in his last 4 appearances, a brace on 19 January 2020, and securing the club, a record 6th successive A-League win after beating Western Sydney Wanderers 1–0.

[140] Three days later, he assisted, passing to the left to Carlo Armiento who shot past Filip Kurto, and later scored in the 58th minute to make a 2–1 lead over Western United.

[147] On 20 November, Fornaroli scored the first goal of the 2021–22 season for Perth, a long range effort past James Delianov, to draw the game 1–1 against Adelaide United.

[150] On 20 February, Fornaroli scored twice, including his second brace and 5th goal of the season, to secure a vital 2–0 victory over Brisbane Roar to close the 7 point gap to third place.

[160] On 3 February, Fornaroli made his 150th A-League appearance against Wellington Phoenix,[161] netting the equaliser past Oliver Sail, before goals from Jake Brimmer and Tomi Juric ended the match in a 3–1 win at AAMI Park.