Mario Balotelli returns to Serie A after four years to sign for struggling Genoa

Mario Balotelli has signed for Genoa as a free agent, the Serie A club said on Monday, marking a return to the Italian top-tier for the striker after more than four years.

Genoa, third from bottom in the standings, have scored just seven goals in nine league games. The club’s manager, Alberto Gilardino, will hope that the 34-year-old can add to the 52 goals he has netted in 141 Serie A games.

Balotelli’s previous club was the 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.

“I am pumped. I don’t want to talk much. I just want to get started,” Balotelli said 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 in 2007 under Roberto Mancini. He won three league titles at the club, including as part of José Mourinho’s 2010 treble-winning squad. Balotelli reunited with Mancini at Manchester City, winning a league title and FA Cup before signing for Milan, and then Liverpool, before he spent four seasons in France at Nice and 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.