Matteo Brunori

Matteo Luigi Brunori (born Matteo Luigi Brunori Sandri on 1 November 1994) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains club Palermo.

Early years
Brunori made his Serie C debut for Foligno on 5 June 2011, in a game against Ternana.

On 1 August 2019, he joined Pescara on loan from Parma with an obligation to buy.

On 24 January 2020, Pescara bought out his rights early and immediately re-sold him to Juventus U23.

On 24 August 2020, he became a new Entella player on loan with an option to buy.

Palermo
On 9 August 2021, he joined Palermo on loan. He made his debut with rosanero in a Coppa Italia Serie C game on 21 August 2021, which Palermo won 4–1 against Picerno. On 26 September, Brunori scored his first goal in a 1–1 away draw against Monterosi Tuscia. On 6 February 2022, he scored both of Palermo's goals in a 2–2 away against Campobasso, which allowed him to break the 10-goal barrier.

Brunori scored another brace in the following home match, which Palermo won 3–1 against Juve Stabia. With his goal against Turris, he surpassed his personal-best tally of 13 goals, which he had reached in the 2018–2019 season with Arezzo, and surpassed Lorenzo Lucca as top scorer of Palermo in Serie C. On 6 March, he scoring a goal in a win against Vibonese, reaching Şükrü Gülesin as player with more consecutive goals scored for Palermo (7). Brunori broke the record in the next match against Avellino.

On 24 April, in the last league match against Bari, Brunori scored one of the two goals that allowed Palermo to qualify for the play-offs. The following 10 June, he won the "Trofeo Facco" for the best goal of 2021–22 Serie C.

In the play-offs, Brunori contributed to the final promotion of Palermo, scoring four goals in 8 games, against Virtus Entella, Feralpisalò (2 goals) and Padova, in the final.

On 17 July 2022, a couple of weeks after the end of the loan deal, Palermo announced to have permanently signed Brunori from Juventus, agreeing on a four-year contract with the striker. On his debut as a permanent Palermo player, Brunori scored his first hat-trick with a Rosanero jersey in a 3–2 Coppa Italia home win against Reggiana. On 6 June 2023, after captaining Palermo and scoring 17 goals on his first Serie B season with the Sicilians, Brunori signed a contract extension until 30 June 2027.

International career
On 15 December 2022, Brunori was called up by Italy national team manager Roberto Mancini as part of the 69-player squad of "players of national interest" for a stage in Coverciano to be held from 20 to 22 December.

Personal life
Born in Brazil to Italian parents, Brunori moved back to Assisi with his family at one year of age. He was raised by his mother alone, and later changed his full surname from "Brunori Sandri" to just "Brunori", choosing to keep only his mother's one.

On 11 June 2022, just two days before Palermo's promotion playoff final against Padova, Brunori married his long-time partner Dalila at the Castello di Naro, in the city of Cagli; the marriage was originally scheduled to be held in 2020 but was then postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.

Honours
Juventus U23
 * Coppa Italia Serie C: 2019–20