Mario Balotelli is an Italian football player who competes for both the Italian national team and the Ligue 1 side “Nice” in Italy. Mario started his football career with ‘Lumezzane,’ where he was raised in Sicily and was born to African parents. At the age of 15, he made his senior debut. In April 2006, he made his debut in the ‘Serie C1’ division. After that, he had a “Barcelona” trial, which ended up being a bad experience for Mario because he was not selected for the squad. He finally joined “Internazionale” in 2007, but his two-year affiliation with them was marred by conduct problems, resulting in his suspension from the first squad in 2009. Mario was acquired by “Manchester City” in 2010, and his play with the club continued to improve. He departed “Manchester City” after a violent incident and signed with “AC Milan” in Italy. After a and a half year spell with “Milan,” Mario joined “Liverpool” and made his way back to the Premier League. He was quickly leased to “Milan,” and then moved to “Nice.”
Early Childhood & Life
Mario Balotelli was born on August 12, 1990, in Palermo, Sicily, to Ghanaian immigrants Rose and Thomas Barwuah. When Mario was 2 years old, the family relocated to Lombardy. Being poor, they could not manage to raise four children. As a result, Mario was placed in foster care by his parents.
Silvia and Francesco Balotelli, who resided in the Italian municipality of Brescia, adopted him. Mario spent weekends with his biological parents for the first few years, but he quickly stopped and recognized Silvia and Francesco as his parents. The wealthy Balotelli family assured Mario of a lavish lifestyle.
It was subsequently discovered that Mario’s biological parents had chosen foster care due to Mario having a serious illness when he was a child. Mario’s expensive therapies were out of their budget. When Mario’s parents most required help, the Balotelli family stepped up. Mario had the choice to return to his real parents as an adult, but he declined, claiming that he detested the fact that they had abandoned him when he was a child.
Despite having health issues, Mario began practicing football at a young age. He joined the “AC Lumezzane” youth team in 2001. Mario became a skilled football player and stayed connected to them through 2006. At the age of 15, after playing skillfully for several “Lumezzane” youth teams, he was eventually promoted to the club’s senior squad.
He made his professional début for Lumezzane in a Serie C1 game against Padova in April 2006. By that point, he had developed into a very aggressive player who sought out opportunities with better teams. This quest led to an unremarkable trial with “Barcelona,” which he eventually attended. He was acquired as a loan player by “Internazionale” in 2006.
Career of Mario Balotelli
Mario had formally allied himself with “Internazionale” by June 2007. In one of his first games for the club, a friendly game against “Sheffield FC,” he scored twice. In a tough game for his squad in the “Serie A,” he tallied twice against “Reggina.” He became a national sensation following his electrifying display against ‘Juventus’ in the quarter-final match of the ‘Coppa Italia.’
In the end, “Internazionale” won both the 2007–2008 Serie A and the “Supercoppa Italiana” in 2008. At the age of 18, Mario became the youngest athlete ever to score in a “Champions League” in late 2008. During a match against “Juventus” in April 2009, some spectators racially harassed Mario. The racist chants by “Juventus” supporters were strongly denounced by both teams and “Juventus” fans were banned for a game after “Internazionale” won the “Serie A” for the fourth consecutive season.
Mario soon encountered disciplinary issues because he skipped his practice lessons. Because of this, the Internazionale head coach was upset with him. Furthermore, Mario experienced no relief from the frequent racist taunts that were aimed at him throughout the majority of his matches. Even when Mario was not on the pitch, “Juventus” supporters yelled racist chants at him.
Because of his misbehavior on the field, he continued getting into trouble. He made an appearance on an Italian TV program in 2010 while sporting an AC Milan t-shirt, Internazionale’s adversary. After a game in April 2010, Mario threw his jersey to the ground in reaction to Internazionale supporters who had been “booing” him because of his poor play in the weeks leading up to the match. As soon as the contest was over, the fans attacked him out of rage. Three years after the incident, Mario apologized, saying it was the only act he had ever done that he regretted.
Mario was formally signed by “Manchester City” in August 2010, and in his first “Europa League” game against “Politehnica Timișoara,” Mario made a goal that assisted his team in winning the game. Then, in a 3-0 loss to “Arsenal” at their home stadium in October, he made his “Premier League” début. His impressive performance earned him instant popularity among “Manchester City” supporters, and by the end of the year, he had received the “Golden Boy” award for his outstanding work.
Despite giving outstanding displays on numerous occasions that mattered, Mario encountered a lot of difficulties as a result of his combative on-field behavior. When the 2011–2012 season was over, his squad managers made the decision to let him go. However, Mario participated in a few more games for “Manchester City,” including a game against “Queen Park Rangers” that decided the league championship. In the end, “Manchester City” won the championship for the first time since 1968.
The acquisition of Mario was revealed by “AC Milan” in the early months of 2013. In the end, Mario made 43 appearances for the squad and scored 26 goals. After his time with “Milan,” though, his effectiveness declined. He joined the “Premier League” side “Liverpool” for the 2014–2015 season, but he only managed to score once in 16 appearances for them.
‘OGC Nice’ revealed in 2016 that they had purchased Mario from ‘Liverpool. Despite having persistent behavioral issues, Mario managed to do rather well. In total, he scored 29 goals in 43 games for the club, and in June 2017, his contract was extended by one more year.
Since Mario was viewed as an immigrant, he was not taken into consideration for the Italian “Under-15” and “Under-17” teams. He struck against Greece in his ‘Under-21’ international debut for his country in September 2008. He has competed for his senior squad in both the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2013 Confederations Cup.
Individual Life of Mario Balotelli
One of the best-dressed football players in the world is Mario Balotelli. In 2012, “GQ” ranked him as the second best-dressed guy.
In the past, Mario had a romance with Raffaella Fico, but it did not work out. Later on, she claimed to be carrying Mario’s kid. On December 5, 2012, Fico gave birth to her daughter Pia. DNA tests in February 2014 proved Pia was Mario’s child.
In March 2013, Mario and Belgian model Fanny Neguesha became engaged. Nevertheless, the pair broke up in September 2014.