Early career Born in
Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Italy, Trotta began his career in the
youth team at
Serie A club
Napoli and decided to leave to experience "a new culture, a new language, a new type of football" in England. In September 2013, he revealed that he would be interested in signing again for Napoli in the future if the opportunity arose, as England provided no new football at all. He joined the
academy at
Premier League club
Manchester City in 2008. The club described him as one of the club's brightest young talents, with his skill and ruthlessness in front of goal.
Fulham Trotta signed a professional contract with Premier League club
Fulham in September 2009. He made six appearances in the
Premier Reserve League South during the
2009–10 season and scored two goals. He received his first call up to the first team for a
Europa League qualifying match versus
Crusaders on 21 July 2011, where he was an unused substitute for a 4–0 win. He made his first senior appearance for Fulham in a 2–1
FA Cup fourth round defeat to
Everton on 27 January 2012. He replaced
Danny Murphy after 87 minutes. In the days after the game, Trotta was the subject of loan attention from
Scottish Premier League club
Rangers as a replacement for
Nikica Jelavić, but a deal never materialised. After featuring as an unused substitute through the latter months of the
2011–12 season, Trotta made his Premier League debut in Fulham's away match against
Bolton Wanderers on 7 April 2012. He was brought on for
Alex Kačaniklić after 88 minutes and almost scored a goal in the dying minutes of a comfortable 3–0 win for the Cottagers. Trotta made two senior appearances during the 2011–12 season and also clocked up 14 Premier Reserve League South appearances, At the start of the
2012–13 season, Trotta signed a new deal which would keep him at
Craven Cottage until the summer of 2015. He was called into the first team squad on one occasion during the 2012–13 season, when he was an unused substitute for a 3–0 win over
West Bromwich Albion on 15 September 2012. He made six
U21 Premier League appearances and scored three goals during the
2012–13 season. Trotta made his only appearance of the
2013–14 season in a 1–0 U21 Premier League win over
Middlesbrough on 16 August 2013, lasting 81 minutes before being substituted for
Dino Islamović. In September 2013, then-manager
Martin Jol stated that Trotta is not "the finished article yet" and challenged him to "step up a gear and then maybe he can play for Fulham in the next couple of years". In January 2014, Trotta was the subject of loan attention from a number of Italian
Serie B clubs. After returning to Craven Cottage on 4 May from his loan away from the club, new manager
Felix Magath cast his eye over Trotta in training prior to the final Premier League match of the season against
Crystal Palace, but the Italian failed to make the squad. With the Cottagers playing in the
Championship for the 2014–15 season, it was reported on 13 May that Trotta was keen to sit down for talks with Magath over his future. Those doubts were confirmed when Trotta submitted a transfer request on 3 June. He failed to receive a first team call under Magath or his successor
Kit Symons and departed Craven Cottage on 9 January 2015. He made just three senior appearances in five years at Craven Cottage.
Wycombe Wanderers (loan) Trotta moved on an initial one-month loan to
League One club
Wycombe Wanderers on 24 November 2011 and scored on his debut against
Milton Keynes Dons in a 4–3 loss. He scored in the following fixture against
Chesterfield on 20 December and again in the next fixture, away at
Carlisle. After the match, Manager
Gary Waddock labelled him a "goal-scoring machine" after Trotta took his tally to six goals in four games. On 14 January 2012, Trotta netted a brace in Wycombe's 3–2 loss to
Preston North End at
Deepdale. After his loan spell ended, Waddock insisted he had no hard feelings about Trotta choosing to test himself at a higher level. Trotta made eight appearances for Wycombe and scored eight goals. He made his debut in a 3–0 league defeat to
Southampton two days later. Two days later, he made his debut for the club, coming on as a substitute for
Lee Hodson, in a 2–0 win against
Sheffield United. He scored his first league goal for the club in a 3–1 win over
Colchester United on
Boxing Day. On 27 January 2013, Trotta scored the opening goal of a memorable 2–2 FA Cup fourth round draw against
Chelsea.
Defender Kevin O'Connor was manager
Uwe Rösler's designated penalty taker, but Trotta wrestled the ball from O'Connor, with the intention of taking the penalty. Trotta slammed the spot-kick against the
crossbar and Doncaster scored from the resulting breakaway, winning the game 1–0 and consigning Brentford to the
end-of-season playoffs. Rösler stated after the game that he had not wanted him to take the penalty, saying "I am not going to hold anyone out to dry. We will deal with the matter internally". In another interview, Rösler said he refused to blame him for the outcome. As a result of the penalty incident, Rösler decided to instruct which players will take the penalties by putting a sheet up in the dressing room ahead of play-off matches against
Swindon Town. Trotta, commented after the incident: Trotta was an unused substitute for the first leg of the playoff semi-finals versus
Swindon Town (which resulted in a 1–1 draw, via a penalty from Kevin O'Connor) and he played 82 minutes of the second leg at Griffin Park, being credited with an
assist for
Clayton Donaldson's goal, which put Brentford 2–0 up. He was substituted for
Paul Hayes after 82 minutes. Trotta started the
playoff final versus
Yeovil Town at
Wembley Stadium up front alongside Clayton Donaldson, but he was brought off for
Bradley Wright-Phillips after 62 minutes of the 2–1 defeat. His return was met with resistance from some Brentford supporters and Uwe Rösler was forced to move quickly to state that "Marcello knows some people have not forgotten what happened, but he wants to come here and fight for his place". After his arrival, he said "I can’t change what happened in the past – but I can in the future". Trotta failed to score until his seventh appearance, a goal which set up a run of four goals in six games through October and November 2013. Three goals and two assists in five games in January saw him nominated for the
League One Player Of The Month award. He notched his 20th career goal for Brentford with the opener in a 1–1 draw with
Shrewsbury Town on 1 February. The strike later won him the club's Bees Player Outstanding Moment of the Season award. He made it two goals in two games when he put the Bees ahead of
Coventry City in a 3–1 win the following week. After the match, Trotta said "I felt I owed something to Brentford, that’s why I decided to come back after what happened last year. I dug in and wanted to repay the fans and the club. The lads have been great and it’s a special day". He made 40 appearances and scored 13 goals during the campaign. Across both his spells with Brentford, Trotta made 69 appearances and scored 23 goals. He made seven appearances and scored one goal before returning to Craven Cottage. On 31 August 2016, Trotta and
Diego Falcinelli were signed by
F.C. Crotone in a temporary deal.
Frosinone On 25 January 2019, Trotta signed with
Frosinone.
Loan to Ascoli On 27 January 2020, he joined
Ascoli on loan with an option to buy.
Loan to Famalicão On 5 October 2020, he was loaned to Portuguese club
Famalicão with an option to buy.
Loan to Cosenza On 23 January 2021, he moved on a new loan to
Serie B club
Cosenza.
Triestina On 31 August 2021, he signed with
Triestina in
Serie C.
Return to Avellino On 2 September 2022, Trotta returned to
Avellino on a two-year contract. On 31 August 2023, his contract with Avellino was terminated by mutual consent. ==International career==