Cristian Volpato

Youth career

Volpato first started playing football in Abbotsford, a suburb of Sydney, where he was a prolific goalscorer.^[6][9][10]

This allowed him to take his first steps into professional football, at Andrea Icardi's AC Milan Soccer School, Sydney FC and the Western Sydney Wanderers academy.^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]} He soon earned a trial in the AS Roma Youth Sector through Fabrizio Piccareta.^{[2][12][15][16]}

After a few months in Rome where he was able to demonstrate his attacking abilities, the young footballer signed a three-year contract with the club from the Italian capital in January 2020.^{[9][11][17][18]} A month later he also joined Francesco Totti's agency, while he had already taken the number 10 shirt with Roma's Youth.^{[2][3][11][15][19][20]}

A year later, Volpato signed his first professional contract with Roma, a new three-year deal tying him to the club until 2024.^[10][12][21] As the youth competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, he then became a regular with the under-18, scoring five goals during the 2020–21 season, soon earning a place in the under-19s squad.^[1][9][15]

Roma

Volpato made his professional debut for Roma on 4 December 2021, aged 18, in a Serie A match lost 3–0 against Inter Milan.^[4][9][22] On 19 February 2022, Volpato scored his first Serie A goal in a match drawn 2–2 against Hellas Verona.^[23]

In the following season, after making his debut in the UEFA Europa League with Roma, he made his first league appearance on 31 October 2022, coming on as a substitute for Nicolò Zaniolo at the 57th minute of the match against Hellas Verona. In the occasion, he scored a goal and assisted Stephan El Shaarawy for another one, thus helping Roma obtain a 3–1 win.^[24][25]

Sassuolo

After stalling for much of negotiation,^[26] on 29 June 2023, Volpato signed a contract to Sassuolo,^[27] after completing a €7.5 million transfer which included a 15% future resale fee.^[28] The transfer is the third-highest fee for an Australian player.^[29]

Volpato scored his first goal for Sassuolo against Bologna on 3 February 2024.^{[citation needed]}

Italy

In early August 2021, Volpato was called by Carmine Nunziata to the Italy national under-19 team,^[32] being however forced to forfeit a few days later.^[33] He took part in the 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship with Italy U19, scoring two goals in the tournament.^{[citation needed]} On 19 November 2022, he made his debut for the Italy U21 squad in a friendly match lost 4–2 against Germany.^{[citation needed]} In June 2024, he took part in the Maurice Revello Tournament in France with Italy.^[34]

Australia

On 12 December 2021, it was reported that Australia national team manager Graham Arnold was considering calling up Volpato for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Vietnam and Oman. He was also called up to the Australia U23 side; however, he was withdrawn from the squad by Roma.^[35] In March 2022, following Australia's 2–0 loss to Japan, Volpato posted an image on his Snapchat story poking fun at the team. This led to many fans labeling him as "childish" and "immature".^[36] With Australia announcing their World Cup squad on 8 November, Graham Arnold disclosed that Volpato had been offered a spot in the 26-man squad, but declined the opportunity.^[37]

In May 2026, Volpato was called up for Australia's 2026 World Cup squad, effectively ending debate over his national team selection.^[38] On 6 June, Volpato made his debut for Australia, starting in a friendly against Switzerland that ended in a 1–1 draw. He was substituted at half-time and replaced by Connor Metcalfe.^[39][40]

Club

As of match played 24 May 2026^[41]

International

As of match played 3 July 2026^[41]