Bruno Fornaroli Mezza is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a forward for A-League club Perth Glory. He is nicknamed as El Tuna, which means "The Prickly Pear".
On 22 July 2008, Fornaroli, who has Italian ancestry, moved to Italian Serie A side UC Sampdoria for a €3 million transfer fee, signing a five-year contract worth €300,000 per year. He made his Serie A debut on 14 September 2008, coming on for Paolo Sammarco in the 75th minute in a 2–0 defeat to Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico. He then scored in both legs of Sampdoria's UEFA Cup matches against FBK Kaunas. He made five Serie A appearances by January 2009, without scoring a goal.
In February 2009, he moved on loan to Argentine Primera División side San Lorenzo de Almagro. At San Lorenzo, Fornaroli scored twice in 15 appearances. In August 2009, Fornaroli was loaned to Spanish Segunda División side Recreativo Huelva. At Recreativo, he scored two league goals in 17 appearances. Fornaroli returned to Sampdoria for the 2010–11 season, but after playing just three minutes for the first team in the first half of the season, Fornaroli was loaned back to Club Nacional de Football in January 2011. During his loan spell, Fornaroli scored four times in 13 appearances.
Return to Sampdoria
After Sampdoria's relegation to Serie B, Fornaroli was given another chance in the first team at the club. However, he failed to score in 11 appearances in the 2011-12 Serie B season.
Panathinaikos
On 21 July 2012, Fornaroli signed a three-year contract with Panathinaikos F.C. after manager Jesualdo Ferreira requested to have him in his team. He made 20 league and 7 continental appearances for the Greek giants without scoring a goal. On 2 September 2013 he terminated his contract with Panathinaikos.
Danubio
Fornaroli then joined Uruguayan side Danubio F.C. in January 2014. On 8 July 2015, Danubio FC confirmed that he would leave the club and continue his career at Melbourne City.
On 10 August 2015, Melbourne City confirmed that they had signed Fornaroli on a two-year deal. He scored his first goal for Melbourne City on his debut on 26 August 2015 against Wellington Phoenix in an FFA Cup match. In the following round of the FFA Cup, the quarterfinals he scored two goals against Heidelberg United. Fornaroli scored his first A-League goal in a 3–2 defeat to rivals Melbourne Victory. The following week Fornaroli scored a brace in City's 3–1 victory over the Central Coast Mariners. He continued his rich scoring form with a brace against Adelaide United making him the top scorer of the league by round 5. Fornaroli also became the quickest A-League player to score 11 goals in the league. On 5 March2016, Fornaroli notched a hat-trick against Sydney FC at AAMI Park to become the first A-League player to score 20 goals in a regular season. Melburnians, a City supporters group, honoured Fornaroli with a dedicated display, reading "El Tuna 23 Rey de Melbourne", at City's next home game on 18 March 2016. Fornaroli capped the season by winning the A-League Golden Boot after scoring 23 goals in the regular season, and was the joint winner of Melbourne City's Player of the Year award.
2016–17 season
On 8 August 2016, City confirmed Fornaroli had signed a new three-year deal, with the striker being elevated to marquee player status. On 25 September 2016, Fornaroli was announced as Melbourne City's captain, taking over from retired Patrick Kisnorbo. After scoring 2 goals against Newcastle Jets in Round 6, Fornaroli became the fastest player to score 30 goals in the A-League. Fornaroli finished the A-League season with 17 goals in 27 games. In the 2016 FFA Cup Final, City defeated Sydney FC 1–0 and achieved its first senior men's trophy as a club. Fornaroli was given the Mark Viduka man of the match award. In his victory speech, he uttered an expletive which saw him earn a reprimand from the Football Federation Australia.
2017–18 season
In August 2017, Fornaroli suffered a broken ankle in an FFA Cup match against Hakoah Sydney City East FC. The injury, and a subsequent setback, meant that Fornaroli had to wait until Round 20 before he could play his first match of the 2017–18 A-League season. Fornaroli was quick to return to form, scoring in 5 of the last 6 matches of the home and away season.
2018–19 season
Fornaroli started the 2018-19 season in fine fashion, scoring a late extra-time winner against Brisbane Roar FC in Round 32 of the 2018 FFA Cup. On 26 February 2019, Fornaroli and Melbourne City mutually agreed to terminate his contract following a falling out with club manager Warren Joyce. Fornaroli subsequently spent a large portion of the 2018–19 season on the sidelines.
Perth Glory
2019–20 season
In March 2019, Fornaroli signad a two-year deal with Perth Glory. On October 27 he scored his first A-League goal for the team versus Wellington Phoenix. On November 23 he scored his 50th goal on his 76th appearance at the A-League.
International career
Fornaroli was a member of the Uruguay team at the 2003 South American U-17 Championship in Bolivia. He scored in Uruguay's group match against Venezuela.
