Gonzalo Julián Melero Manzanares (born 2 January 1994) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Almería as a midfielder.
Born in Madrid, Melero joined Real Madrid's youth setup in 2004, aged ten, after starting out at EF Zona Norte. He made his debut as a senior with the former's C-team in the 2013–14 campaign, being relegated from Segunda División B.
In July 2014 Melero was promoted to the reserves, now also in the third level.[1] On 30 January of the following year, after being sparingly used by manager Zinedine Zidane, he moved to Segunda División's SD Ponferradina in a 2+1⁄2-year deal.[2]
Melero made his professional debut on 15 February 2015, coming on as a second half substitute for Pablo Infante in a 2–1 home loss against CD Numancia.[3] He scored his first professional goal on 27 February of the following year, but in a 4–2 away loss against Bilbao Athletic.
On 27 July 2016, after Ponfe's relegation, Melero signed a one-year contract with SD Huesca still in the second level.[4] On 10 December, he scored a brace in a 5–2 home routing of UCAM Murcia CF.
Melero was an undisputed starter during the 2017–18 campaign, contributing with a career-best 17 goals as his side achieved promotion to La Liga. He made his debut in the category on 19 August 2018, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 away win against SD Eibar.[5]
On 3 July 2019, after suffering relegation, Melero signed a four-year contract with Levante UD still in the top tier.[6]
On 1 September 2022, he agreed to a four-year deal with UD Almería also in the first division.[7]