Italy Under-21 boss Pierluigi Casiraghi called him up for the 2008 Toulon Tournament and listed him as a reserve player for the Olympics that summer.

In April 2008, coach Antonio Conte compared him to Cristiano Ronaldo, stating that he has the possibility and potential to reach similar levels in his football and quoting "Lanzafame has improved tactically” to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

On 25 June 2010, Palermo and Juventus agreed to extend the co-ownership deal for another year, with the Sicilian club loaning the player to the Bianconeri for the 2010–11 season.

[6][7] On 10 August 2011, Palermo confirmed to have sold Lanzafame to Catania on a co-ownership basis, for €1 million,[8][9] as part of the deal that saw Matías Silvestre move in the opposite direction.

[11] He was a mainstay in the club's lineup, appearing in 16 matches and scoring 2 league goals during the first half of the 2012–13 Serie B season, before returning to Catania in January 2013.

He was then immediately loaned out to Hungarian outfit, Budapest Honvéd at the request of coach Marco Rossi[citation needed].

When Budapest Honvéd learned that Lanzafame had been accused of manipulating matches during his time with Bari by FIGC, they terminated his loan deal, which would have run until 30 June, a month in advance.

Prosecutor Stefano Palazzi had requested a four-year ban; however, Lanzafame saw his plea bargain accepted and will be suspended for 16 months with a €40,000 fine.

[12] On 12 August 2014, Lanzafame signed with Serie B club Perugia,[13] joining Marco Rossi who also involved in the aforementioned scandal.

[19] In 2022, Lanzafame took on his first head coaching job, being named in charge of Hungary amateur club Pestszentimré, a position he left by the end of the year.