Mario Balotelli

Mario Balotelli

Mario Balotelli Barwuah (born 12 August 1990) is an Italian professional footballer. He plays as a striker for Serie B club Monza and the Italy national team. He started his professional football career at Lumezzane and played for the first team twice before having an unsuccessful trial at Barcelona. He was signed by Inter Milan in 2006 on loan with a pre-set price of €150,000 to co-own the player. He joined Manchester City in August 2010, where his performances and off-field activities continued to be enigmatic and unpredictable. After 18 months at Milan, he returned to the Premier League with Liverpool. An unsuccessful season with the Merseyside club led to his return to Milan on loan and subsequent departure on

About Mario Balotelli in brief

Summary Mario BalotelliMario Balotelli Barwuah (born 12 August 1990) is an Italian professional footballer. He plays as a striker for Serie B club Monza and the Italy national team. He started his professional football career at Lumezzane and played for the first team twice before having an unsuccessful trial at Barcelona. He was signed by Inter Milan in 2006 on loan with a pre-set price of €150,000 to co-own the player. He joined Manchester City in August 2010, where his performances and off-field activities continued to be enigmatic and unpredictable. After 18 months at Milan, he returned to the Premier League with Liverpool. An unsuccessful season with the Merseyside club led to his return to Milan on loan and subsequent departure on a free transfer to Ligue 1 side Nice. After a spell with fellow French club Marseille in January 2019, he returns to Italy the following summer, joining Brescia. He amassed over 30 caps and represented his country at UEFA Euro 2012, the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Along with Antonio Cassano, he is Italy’s top-scorer in the UEFA European Championship with three goals. In June 2012, he dedicated his goals that put Italy in the final of the Euro 2012 football championships to his foster mother Silvia. He officially gained citizenship in Concesio on 13 August 2008. He has three biological siblings: Abigail, Enoch and Angel Bar Wuah, two years younger than Balotellis, is also a professional footballer, and his older brother Enoch is a footballer as well.

He adopted their surname when he was two years old. He is also the son of Jewish Holocaust survivor Silvia and her Italian husband, Francesco Balotlli. He had to wait until his 18th birthday to request Italian citizenship, as his foster family had not adopted him. He made his first team debut in a Serie C1 league match against Padova on 2 April 2006. At age 15, he was promoted to the firstteam, making his first-team debut against Reggina. On 8 November 2007, he featured in a friendly between Sheffield Fs C. and Sheffield United as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations. The game finished 5–2 to Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane. He scored two goals in the return leg of the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, being instrumental in a 4–1 win against Juventus. On 16 December 2007 he made his Serie A debut against Juventus, replacing David Suazo in a 2–0 win against Cagliari C. C. Three days later he was featured in the starting lineup in a Coppa italia semi-final. He later was permanently placed in foster care when his own family was unable to pay for his health care needs. In January 2009 he was suspended from Inter’s first team in January 2009 after a number of disciplinary problems. In June 2007, Inter bought the other half of the option and other half for an additional €190,000.