Early years with Siena, Juventus, and loan spells across Italy
Born in Foligno, Spinazzola started his career at Siena's youth setup. In 2010, he joined Juventus in a temporary deal, being assigned to the Primavera squad. In June 2012 Juventus signed half of the registration rights for €400,000. On 5 July 2012 Spinazzola and Filippo Boniperti were loaned to Serie B sideEmpoli in a season-long loan. 1 September he played his first match as a professional, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–2 away draw against Novara. Spinazzola scored his first professional goal on the 15th, but in a 2–4 loss at Livorno. After appearing in only seven matches, his loan spell was cut short and he moved to Virtus Lanciano also in a temporary deal in January 2013. Spinazzola only appeared in three matches with Virtus, all from the bench. On 10 August 2013 he was again loaned, this time to his first club Siena; he appeared regularly with the latter, contributing with 24 matches and one goal for the latter, which narrowly missed out play-offs. In June 2014 the co-ownership agreement between Siena and Juventus was renewed again. However, after the bankruptcy of Siena in July, Juventus acquired the remaining 50% registration rights of Spinazzola from Siena for free. On 11 August 2014 Spinazzola joined Serie A sideAtalanta also in a loan deal. On 23 August, he made his debut for the club, scoring the last goal of a 2–0 home win against Pisa in the Coppa Italia. Spinazzola made his debut in the Italian top flight on 31 August, replacing Marcelo Estigarribia in the 82nd minute of a 0–0 home draw against Verona. After spells on loan with Vicenza and Perugia, Spinazzola returned to Atalanta in July 2016. After spending two seasons on loan with Atalanta, Spinazzola returned to Juventus in the summer of 2018. Following an injury that ruled him out for the first half of the 2018–19 season, Spinazzola made his Juventus debut on 12 January 2019, in a 2–0 away win over Bologna in the Coppa Italia. He made his Champions League debut on 12 March, starting in a 3–0 home win over Atlético Madrid, in the round of 16 of the tournament, which enabled Juventus to advance to the quarter-finals 3–2 on aggregate.
Roma
On 1 July 2019, Leonardo Spinazzola joined Roma from Juventus for €29.5 million, signing a four-year contract with the club, while Luca Pellegrini moved in the opposite direction. In January 2020, Spinazzola was close to a transfer move to Inter Milan in exchange for Matteo Politano yet the deal collapsed at the last minute as Inter was not entirely satisfied with Spinazzola's physical conditions and failed at re-negotiation.
International career
On 28 March 2017, Spinazzola made his senior international debut for the Italy national football team, along with four other players, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 friendly away win against the Netherlands.
Style of play
Although naturally right-footed, Spinazzola prefers playing on the left flank, either as a full-back, wing-back, or winger; a versatile player, he is also capable of playing on the right side of the pitch. A quick, athletic, and offensive-minded player, he is known for his stamina, speed, acceleration, physicality, and his outstanding dribbling skills, which enable him to beat his man in one on one situations on the wing with feints or changes of pace. He is also capable of playing the ball first time, cutting into the centre and providing in-swinging crosses to teammates, or providing depth to his team with his attacking runs down the flank. Defensively, he is known for his anticipation and ability in the air. His versatility, characteristics, role, and playing style have drawn comparisons with former Italy and Juventus wing-back Gianluca Zambrotta, whom Spinazzola himself has cited as one of his major influences.
