New Delhi: The 34-year-old striker was once touted as one of Italy’s best young attackers, but despite showing glimpses of his potential at various points in his career, Mario Balotelli could never reach the lofty heights expected of him. This was further highlighted by the fact that Indian Super League club Kerela Blasters opted against signing the one-time UEFA Champions League winner.
Balotelli spent the previous season playing in Turkey with Turkish Super Lig club Adana Demirspor, his second spell with the club, and he made 16 appearances for them, scoring seven goals and assisting another in an injury-hit season. He only signed a one-year deal at the club and that expired after the 2023/24 season ended, leaving the former Manchester City and Liverpool striker without a club.
The three-time Indian Super League runner-up, Kerela Blasters were in talks to sign the Italian but to the surprise of many football fans, they declined the chance to sign him citing two major reasons, concerns over the financial aspects and discipline. Once a regular goalscorer for club and country, his form deteriorated drastically after his disastrous spell at Liverpool. While he did manage to revitalize his career with a spell at OGC Nice, consequent moves to the second tier of Italian football and a spell in the Swiss league show how far they mighty have fallen.
Journalist Marcus Mergulhao revealed that the Blasters passed on signing Mario Balotelli, being an unrealistic option! 😯 A good choice from the club? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/qjwt9jMQt3
— Transfermarket India (@TransfermkIndia) September 8, 2024
While his form wasn’t as big a worry considering, even at the age of 34, he contributed to a goal in every other match in Turkey and could’ve performed at a similar level in India as well, disciplinary issues have remained with him wherever he has gone. He has faced problems because of them at huge clubs like Manchester City and Liverpool, often leading to him falling out of favour at the club.
Even at Adana Demirspor, Balotelli lighted a firecracker in the club’s dressing room which didn’t go down well with the club and it reminded people of similar incidents he was involved in at both Manchester City and Liverpool. Apart from his disciplinary issues, the club also thought signing a huge name like Balotelli would put a lot of strain on the club’s finances.
They predicted that trying to sign Balotelli would be pretty similar to the time when FC Goa tried to sign Brazillian superstar Ronaldinho but the deal fell through because of his high wage demands and they wanted to avoid that situation. While signing Balotelli would have been a huge deal for the club and would’ve been seen as akin to Mumbai City FC signing Diego Forlan, they decided to go for a more sensible approach.
The former Italian international has had a journeyman career and could’ve added India to the list of countries he’s played in but the three-time ISL runner-ups snubbed the chance to sign him. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
