More than once, Mario Balotelli has vowed to change his ways. Upon joining AC Milan in the summer of 2015, for instance, he claimed to have “learned from [his] mistakes.”
Brendan Rodgers said the Italian forward, a footballing man-child renowned for his wild ways, had matured as he arrived at Liverpool. Of course, in both instances they were false promises. Balotelli hadn’t changed. Not one bit.
Now 27, Balotelli has spent the last two seasons out of the spotlight. This isn’t meant to denounce Ligue 1 and the general quality of French domestic football. Instead, it’s meant as a comment on the pattern of Balotelli’s career up until his move to Nice nearly two years ago. It didn’t matter where he was, the spotlight followed him. But in France, Balotelli has somewhat flown under the radar.
At least in respect of his public antics. On the pitch, Balotelli has more than made an impression in the French Riviera. He has 22 goals from 33 appearances to show for his season so far, following on from 15 goals in 23 appearances last season.
The Italian has enjoyed a career renaissance at Nice and what’s more he has done so without setting off any fireworks from his bathroom or racking up a $400,000 strip club tab 48 hours before any game.
It’s little wonder then that speculation is swirling over Balotelli’s future in France, with a number of Premier League clubs reported to be interested in signing the Italian forward this summer when his contract at Nice expires. Manchester United have even been linked with a move for the former Manchester City man, as unlikely as that particular transfer might be.
Right now, Balotelli might be about to move into the third act of his eventful, yet ultimately unfulfilled, career. Not for the first time, he has a number of options in front of him and at 27 he still has time to reach the heights that were expected of him not so long ago. Now, however, his margin for error has been reduced. Make one more misstep at this stage and he will have blown it, consigned to the pile of players who never quite made the most of the talent they were blessed with.
For a long time it looked like Balotelli had already blown his shot. Liverpool was deemed to be his last chance at the big time, his last opportunity in the Premier League. Nice faced very little competition in signing the Italian from the Reds two years ago, but it will be a different story this summer.
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