Mario Balotelli wants Premier League return - but it won't be to Manchester City
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AC Milan are looking to offload the Italian World Cup striker but Manchester City have no interest in taking him back to the Etihad
Mario Balotelli could return to the Premier League next season – but Manchester City will not be activating a buy-back clause in the Italian’s AC Milan contract.
The champions agreed to sell Balotelli to Milan for a cut-price £20million 16 months ago, on the proviso that they were given first refusal on the 23-year-old if he ever left the San Siro.
The Italian giants are now looking to offload the controversial striker, who will lead the Azzurri attack against England in Manaus in 13 days’ time.
City have no interest in taking Balotelli back to the Etihad.
And that has alerted Arsenal and Tottenham about a player who hits the headlines as often off the pitch as on it.
Both clubs are in the market for a top-class centre-forward and have been approached to gauge whether their interest is genuine.
Balotelli insisted, when he left City, that they were the only English club he would play for.
He feels ready to take another shot at English football, but there is no desire at the Etihad to trigger his return after a season when Manuel Pellegrini won the title and Capital One Cup.
Homesickness prompted Balotelli to leave City in
January 2012 after the club ran out of patience with his controversial antics.
He has played well and scored goals regularly in Milan. But he has become increasingly disillusioned with the constant outbreaks of racism that he is forced to endure in his homeland.
GettyOne of many clashes in the "love/hate relationship" of Mancini and Balotelli
Wild child: Balotelli had numerous run-ins with his Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini
The final straw came when Balotelli was racially abused at a pre-World Cup training camp in Florence.
Last year, after he was subjected to monkey chants with Milan team- mate Kevin Prince-Boateng at Roma, Balotelli threatened to walk off the pitch if it happened again.
Instead, it seems, he is ready to quit Italian football. Milan would demand £30million for him.
And that will be of interest to City, who are due a cut of any profit on their former striker.
Balotelli won Premier League and FA Cup medals under Roberto Mancini, but his constant run-ins with referees, opponents and the media prompted City to cash in as his value began to drop.
Ironically, Balotelli has become increasingly unhappy with paparazzi intrusion in Italy.
He is also involved in a legal battle to win custodial rights for his 18-month-old daughter, Pia.
But even that is unlikely to prevent him seeking a move away from Italy after the World Cup.
