Mario Balotelli plays for Adana Demirspor in Türkiye. (Image: Getty.)
Mario Balotelli is looking for a new club after the former Liverpool and Manchester City striker's contract with Turkish side Adana Demirspor expired.
The 34-year-old, who won 36 caps for Italy and scored 21 Premier League goals during two spells in England, left Demirspor after a second spell with the Blue Lightning, interspersed with a year in Switzerland with Sion.
He returned to Turkey on a one-year contract with an option for a further year, but Demirspor declined the opportunity to extend his deal for the 2024/25 season and Balotelli has since remained a free agent.
The transfer window has passed without any club deciding they want to work with the controversial striker, even on a free transfer, but he can still be signed by teams even after the majority of deadlines close at the end of August.
However, he will not be heading to Kerala Blasters after the Times of India claimed that after asking the club if they were interested in the Italian, they did not pursue his signing.
Balotelli's “status and disciplinary record” have been cited as factors in why he was snubbed by the Indian Super League giants.
Mario Balotelli's famous 'Why Always Me?' t-shirt after scoring for Manchester City against United. (Image: Getty)
Earlier this year, a video circulated on social media in which Balotelli was seen lighting small fireworks in the Demirspor dressing room, throwing them across the room while covering his ears, appearing to laugh to himself during his antics.
Such incidents have become synonymous with Balotelli, after his Cheshire mansion went up in flames when fireworks were set off in the striker's bathroom, just 36 hours before his City side were due to face rivals Manchester United in 2011.
He arrived at the Etihad the previous year from Inter Milan for £22m and within days of his arrival was reportedly carrying £5,000 in cash in his pocket. When questioned at the scene by a police officer after the car crash, Balotelli replied: “Because I'm rich.”
He gained a cult following in Manchester, as much for his off-field antics as for his goals, before returning to England with Liverpool in 2014. However, he scored just one league goal for the Reds in his sole season at Anfield, before spells at AC Milan, Nice, Marseille, Brescia, Monza and most recently Demirspor and Sion.
And now Balotelli finds himself without a club in September, having been deemed “not a realistic target” by Kerala Blasters, further dropping his value as the 2010 Golden Boy winner's career comes to a glorious end.
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1945961/Mario-Balotelli-now-India-Man-City-Liverpool