Matteo Pessina Cavaliere OMRI (born 21 April 1997) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Monza, whom he captains, and the Italy national team.

Born in Monza, Italy, Pessina began his youth career at local club La Dominante aged five.

[10] Despite avoiding relegation, Monza was forced to restart from the Serie D due to a bankruptcy: Pessina became a free agent, and was signed by AC Milan on 30 June 2015.

[10] On 7 July 2017, Pessina signed a contract with Atalanta,[15] as part of a swap deal involving Andrea Conti moving the other way.

[22] He made his Serie A debut on 20 August 2018, aged 21, replacing Mario Pašalić in the second half of the first matchday, a 4–0 home win against Frosinone.

[10] After returning from loan in summer 2020, Pessina made his UEFA Champions League debut with Atalanta on 21 October, in a 4–0 win against Midtjylland.

[43] On 26 June, after coming off the bench for Nicolò Barella, Pessina scored the match-winning goal in a 2–1 win in extra-time over Austria in the round of 16, which allowed Italy to progress to the quarter-finals.

[44] On 11 July, Pessina won the European Championship with Italy following a 3–2 penalty shoot-out victory over England at Wembley Stadium in the final, after a 1–1 draw in extra-time.

[45] On 20 November 2022, Pessina came on as a substitute in a 2–0 friendly defeat to Austria, becoming Monza's first-ever player to play for the Italy national team.

[46][47] He became the inaugural Biancorosso to score for the national side, netting Italy's second goal in a 2-0 win over Malta in a UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier on March 26, 2023.

A left-footed player,[7] he possesses good technique, and is known for his ability to create chances for teammates or make late attacking runs off the ball into the penalty area; he is also known for his defensive qualities and work-rate.