Much maligned Mario Balotelli has decided to make Marseille the next stop in his journeyman career, according to Fabrizio Romano. Reports claim that the deal is done with Balotelli to undergo medicals on Wednesday. The Italian international has had a row with new Nice coach Patrick Viera and he is hoping a move to Marseille will revive what looks like another lost season.
Mario Balotelli Moves to Marseille
It has been another tough season for Mario Balotelli, this time on France’s south coast. Things had been going so well for the former Manchester City and Liverpool man, the 28-year-old had scored 15 league goals in back-to-back seasons in France. Those seasons were under Lucian Favre, who now coaches Borussia Dortmund. Balotelli has had less luck with his new coach, former Arsenal and France star Patrick Viera.
The breakdown of their relationship is not just down to Viera. Over the summer, Balotelli was angling for a move to Marseille and thought he had an agreement with Nice over the transfer. There were even reports that a deal was done as early as May, however, Balotelli stayed at Nice for another season.
That turned out to be a bad decision for all involved. Upset at his lack of movement, Balotelli showed up overweight and out of shape to start this season. We are now into January and Balotelli has still not scored in ten Ligue 1 appearances, but that won’t matter once he moves to Marseille.
They are desperate for any type of striker as Valère Germain and Kostas Mitroglou have failed to live up to the billing. The pair have combined for six goals for a seventh-place Marseille side and that is a travesty. So, in steps Mario Balotelli, hoping to be Super Mario and save Marseille’s season.
The club are hoping to have Balotelli ready for their big Friday night clash with second-place Lille. If not, then he would likely make his debut against Reims on February 2nd. If Balotelli is going to get his season going, it will be in this run of games that Marseille have. It’s a very winnable run for them before their big clash with Paris Saint-Germain on March 17th.
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