The Italy striker has been the center of recent
speculation, and there's every chance that his spell with his boyhood
club is about to come to an early end.
When Mario Balotelli arrived at Milanello in January 2013, it looked like a match made in heaven.
The Italy striker was an AC Milan fan as a youngster and his time at Manchester City
had run its course. He needed a fresh challenge. The Rossoneri,
meanwhile, were looking for a leg up in their push to regain their
status of old. They required a player who could fit in with Stephan El
Shaarawy and M’baye Niang in their grand vision for the future.
On opening night against Udinese, Balotelli’s box-office billing
appeared more than worthy. He immediately showed signs of an
understanding with Niang, and by halftime he’d already registered his
first goal in black and red from an El Shaarawy pull back. Later, he
would smash in a match-winning penalty. The future appeared to be in
safe hands.
But little more than a year later, the great Balotelli project seems
to be on altogether more rocky ground. On Friday, the 23-year-old netted
a stunning late winner against Bologna at San Siro,
yet it came after the latest in a string of unconvincing performances.
His movement was again labored, his interest in the scrap questionable,
his relevance to the game as a whole minimal.
The very fact that Milan sits in ninth says much about how the last
year has gone. If anything, it looks a worse team now than it did this
time last year, and the bright young hopes have all fallen short of
expectation for various reasons.
Niang has been sent on loanloan
to Montpellier after failing to score in 28 league games in Italy, with
off-field trouble also having followed. El Shaarawy has played just 92
minutes in all competitions during the last five months due to injury,
coming off the back of a dip in form which coincided with Balotelli’s
arrival in Milan.
And the main man himself has yet to show that he can become the more
rounded, all-encompassing target man that coach Clarence Seedorf appears
to want him to be. Balotelli stated after Friday’s winner that he feels
the need to lead the Rossoneri from the front. “The coach gives me
confidence, as I am the one who has to pull the team forward and
therefore it's my duty to score these goals,” he told Sky Sport. Yet he has often left Milan lacking a real focus and energy in the forward line.
He has netted 26 times in 40 games in Milan colors, but nine of them
have come from the penalty spot and a further four from free kicks. What
remains is a tally of 13 goals from open play. Giampaolo Pazzini has
scored the same number in 36 games for the club, only 16 of which have
been starts.
In general play, Balotelli often lacks the dynamism one might rightly
expect from a player who away from the field appears to carry so much
effervescence and verve. He may have the desire to be the very best,
admitting to Goal recently that he sees himself as a potential Ballon
d’Or candidate – “Of course it is an ambition for everybody, and it is
certainly an ambition for me” – but this objective is belied by his body
language on the pitch.
"I've had enough and the decision is made. Mario is officially on the market and we need to sell him before the end of January"
- Silvio Berlusconi, December 2013
It is an attitude which now sees him close to the exit door at San
Siro. With Milan struggling to make any real impression on the Serie A
table, Balotelli looks likely to be sold in a bid to raise funds for a
new project. President Silvio Berlusconi, who called the striker a
"rotten apple" shortly before his arrival in Milan, was left fuming by
the No.45's approach during the winter break and demanded that he be
sold in January.
“I’ve had enough and the decision is made,” Secolo XIX
quoted Berlusconi as saying. “Mario is officially on the market and we
need to sell him before the end of January.” The former Inter man might
have survived the transfer window, but it seems little more than a stay
of execution, with Silvio's daughter Barbara wanting to move out all
players linked to agent Mino Raiola.
With Balotelli having been purchased for 20 million euros with additional performance-related costs, the Rossoneri
could well make the most of his sell-on value should he perform well
against Atletico Madrid this week in the Champions League round of 16
first leg. With the decision already made that the forward can leave, it
seems that any star showing now will be greeted as warmly for its
weight in the market as for its boost on the field.
Balotelli’s demeanor, Milan’s results and the Berlusconi family's
lack of patience are proof enough that last January's move has simply
not worked. The end of the great love affair is nigh.
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