Matteo Lovato

Matteo Lovato
Lovato playing for Atalanta in 2021
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-02-14) 14 February 2000 (age 26)
Place of birth Monselice, Italy
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Padova
Youth career
–2016 Padova
2016–2019 Genoa
2018–2019 → Padova (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Padova 17 (0)
2020–2021 Hellas Verona 25 (0)
2021–2022 Atalanta 6 (0)
2022 → Cagliari (loan) 16 (0)
2022–2026 Salernitana 30 (0)
2024 → Torino (loan) 13 (0)
2024–2025 → Sassuolo (loan) 20 (1)
2025–2026 → Empoli (loan) 33 (3)
2026– Padova 0 (0)
International career‡
2020–2023 Italy U21 15 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 13 May 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 28 June 2023

Matteo Lovato (born 14 February 2000) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie B club Padova.

Club career

Early years

Lovato spent his early years in the youth teams of Padova before moving to Genoa's under-17 team at age 16, where he made 18 appearances and scored two goals. Lovato did not join Genoa's Primavera team, though; he returned to Padova on loan in January 2018.

On 25 August 2019, Lovato made his Serie C debut with Padova under coach Salvatore Sullo, as a starter in a 3–1 away victory against Virtus Verona. He would remain with the club for the first half of the 2019–20 season, accumulating 18 appearances in all competitions.

Hellas Verona

On 31 January 2020, Hellas Verona announced the acquisition of Lovato for a reported fee of €500,000. He made his Serie A debut with the club on 18 July 2020 under coach Ivan Jurić as a late substitute for Koray Günter in a 1–1 home draw against Atalanta.

The next season, Lovato broke into the starting lineup following the sale of Marash Kumbulla. He made a total of 24 appearances for Verona, helping the club to a 10th-place finish.

Atalanta

On 31 July 2021, Lovato signed for Atalanta on a four-year contract, for a reported fee of €8 million plus €3 million in bonuses.

On 3 January 2022, Lovato joined Cagliari on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season.

Salernitana

Lovato joined Salernitana on 6 July 2022 on a five-year contract, as part of a deal in which Éderson moved the other way.

On 31 January 2024, Lovato moved on loan to Torino, with an option to buy.

On 7 August 2024, Lovato joined Sassuolo on loan, with an option to buy and a conditional obligation to buy.

On 18 August 2025, Lovato was loaned to Empoli, with a conditional obligation to buy.

Return to Padova

On 22 July 2026, Lovato returned to Padova with a three-year contract.

International career

On 12 November 2020, Lovato made his debut with the Italy U21 playing as a starter in a qualifying match won 2–1 against Iceland in Reykjavík.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 February 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Padova 2019–20 Serie C 17010——180
Hellas Verona 2019–20 Serie A 1000——10
2020–21 Serie A 24000——240
Total 25000——250
Atalanta 2021–22 Serie A 60—10—70
Cagliari (loan) 2021–22 Serie A 16000——160
Salernitana 2022–23 Serie A 17000——170
2023–24 Serie A 13020——150
Total 30020——320
Torino (loan) 2023–24 Serie A 130———130
Sassuolo (loan) 2024–25 Serie B 20110——211
Empoli (loan) 2025–26 Serie B 22100——221
Career total 14924010001542

Honours

Sassuolo

References

  1. ↑ Matteo Lovato at WorldFootball.net
  2. ↑ "Matteo Lovato #66". Cagliari Calcio (in Italian). Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Manzoni, Samuele (16 December 2020). "Da Kumbulla a... Matteo Lovato, il nuovo difensore del Verona" (in Italian). SportPaper. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  4. ↑ "Tutti i movimenti del mercato invernale del settore giovanile del Calcio Padova" (in Italian). 1 February 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  5. ↑ "Matteo Lovato ceduto a titolo definitivo all'Hellas Verona". padovacalcio.it (in Italian). 31 January 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  6. ↑ "Ufficiale: dal Padova arriva Lovato". hellasverona.it (in Italian). 31 January 2020. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  7. ↑ "Verona-Atalanta 1-1, gol e highlights. Pessina risponde a Zapata" (in Italian). Sky Sport. 19 July 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  8. ↑ "Verona, primo gettone in Serie A anche per Lovato". mondoprimavera.com (in Italian). 19 July 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  9. ↑ "Fanta guida: il Verona 2020–21 punta su Faraoni, Lazovic e Veloso per ripetere il miracolo". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 15 September 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  10. ↑ Antolini, Simone (11 October 2020). "Juric, tesoro da cento milioni: È caccia ai nuovi... Kumbulla" (in Italian). L'Arena. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  11. ↑ Bettoni, Lorenzo (30 July 2021). "Lovato to Atalanta 'a done deal', will he replace Romero?". Football Italia. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  12. ↑ Mork, Martin (31 July 2021). "Official: Lovato moves to Atalanta". Football Italia. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  13. ↑ "Lovato al Cagliari" (in Italian). Cagliari. 3 January 2022. Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  14. ↑ "Matteo Lovato è un nuovo giocatore della Salernitana" (in Italian). US Salernitana 1919. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  15. ↑ "Salernitana, Ederson saluta. Lovato e Botheim alle visite". Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 5 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  16. ↑ "LOVATO AL TORO" [LOVATO AT TORO] (in Italian). Torino. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  17. ↑ "Matteo Lovato: benvenuto in neroverde!" [Matteo Lovato: welcome to the black and green!] (in Italian). US Sassuolo Calcio. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  18. ↑ "Matteo Lovato è un nuovo calciatore azzurro" [Matteo Lovato is a new Empoli footballer] (in Italian). Empoli FC. 18 August 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  19. ↑ "Matteo Lovato è un giocatore del Calcio Padova" [Matteo Lovato is a player for Calcio Padova] (in Italian). Calcio Padova. 22 July 2026. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  20. ↑ "Iceland U21 vs. Italy U21 - 12 November 2020". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  21. ↑ Matteo Lovato at Soccerway. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  22. ↑ "Sassuolo Calcio wins the Serie B championship". MAPEI. Retrieved 15 May 2025.