Italian striker Mario Balotelli has been signed by Genoa as a free agent, the Serie A club said on Monday, marking a return to the Italian top-tier after more than four years for the 34-year-old who has been without a club since the end of last season.
Genoa, third from bottom in the standings, have scored just seven goals in nine league games, and manager Alberto Gilardino will hope that Balotelli can add to the 52 goals he netted in 141 Serie A games.
Balotelli’s previous club was Turkish side Adana Demirspor, where in his second spell hampered by a knee injury he scored seven goals in 16 games last season, and his final appearance for the club in May ended with a first half sending off.
“Welcome to Genoa, Super Mario!” a statement from the club said.
“I am pumped. I don’t want to talk much. I just want to get started,” Balotelli said earlier on Monday.
“I’ll give it my all,” he added, addressing the fans.
‘Super Mario’, as Balotelli is known, made his Serie A debut with Inter Milan in 2007 under Roberto Mancini. He won three league titles at the club, including as part of Jose Mourinho’s 2010 treble-winning squad.
Balotelli reunited with Mancini at Manchester City, winning a league title and FA Cup before signing for AC Milan, and then Liverpool, before he spent four seasons in France at Nice and Olympique de Marseille.
His last appearance in Serie A came at Brescia where he scored five goals in 19 games in the 2019-20 season before joining Monza in Italy’s second tier, followed by his time in Turkey and at Sion in Switzerland.
Balotelli scored 14 goals for Italy in 36 appearances. He was part of the side which lost the Euro 2012 final to Spain and also appeared at the 2014 World Cup, before going four years without a call-up from the national side.
In 2018, Mancini recalled Balotelli to the Italy squad, and his last game in an Italy shirt came over six years ago in a Nations League game against Poland in September 2018.
After a career often hampered by poor discipline and tabloid headlines, this could well be Balotelli’s last chance to show he still has what it takes to perform at football’s top level.
Genoa host Fiorentina on Thursday.