Mario Balotelli has officially sealed his ‘dream’ return to Serie A, as he has signed a short-term deal with Alberto Gilardino’s Genoa until the end of the season, the club have confirmed.
Official: Genoa sign Balotelli on short-term deal
Balotelli has officially put pen to paper on a deal until the end of June, 2025. It is expected that he will take home around €400,000 in wages, with bonuses included. The former Italy international had his medicals in the city on Monday morning.
Genoa made use of his ‘Super Mario’ nickname while announcing his signing on social media.
🪙🔴🔵🪙 pic.twitter.com/8QupBPZBJv
— Genoa CFC (@GenoaCFC) October 28, 2024
The former Inter, Man City, Liverpool and Milan striker has been a free agent since the start of the summer, when he left Turkish Super Lig outfit Adana Dermirspor at the end of his contract.
His final game in Turkey ended in spectacular fashion, as he was shown a 39th minute red card for an off-the-ball incident while wearing the captain’s armband.
Balotelli said in a recent interview that he had rejected lucrative offers from abroad over the summer as he was willing to hold out from offers from Serie A.
Genoa will be the first Serie A club that Balotelli has represented since his stint with Brescia in 2019-20, where he scored five goals from 19 appearances. He also had a spell with Monza the year after, also scoring five league goals, although they came in Serie B.
— Genoa CFC (@GenoaCFC) October 28, 2024