Mario Balotelli has now completed the 14th transfer of his career after being handed a surprise career lifeline from Al-Ittifaq in Dubai.
The idiosyncratic Italian spent the first half of the season as a free agent after leaving Genoa last June when his contract expired.
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Balotelli attracted interest from both Major League Soccer and Liga MX clubs last summer but ultimately remained uncommitted.
Balotelli joins new club
The 35-year-old, who maintained his fitness as a player and coach at Kandima in the Maldives, has now found a new home in the United Arab Emirates.
Balotelli has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Al-Ittifaq, not to be confused with the Saudi side Steven Gerrard managed.
Instead, the Emirati football club, founded just six years ago, is currently at the bottom of the UAE First Division.
Al-Ittifaq have won just two of their 11 games this season, scoring just six goals, and Balotelli needs to get going.
However, the striker, whose time in European football is coming to an end, failed to score in any of his six appearances for Genoa last season.
It is the 14th new club of Balotelli’s career since he moved from Lumezzane to Italian giants Inter Milan as a teenager in 2007.
He was part of the Nerazzurri team that won the treble under Jose Mourinho, including the 2010 Champions League.
Balotelli then arrived in England in the summer after joining Manchester City for £20 million.
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It is known that his only assist in the Premier League was the one that helped Sergio Aguero win the title in 2012 with his dramatic winner.
After a falling out with City manager Roberto Mancini, the door was opened for Balotelli when he moved to AC Milan just six months later.
However, it wasn’t long before Super Mario returned to the Premier League, signing with Liverpool in the summer of 2014.
A disastrous spell at Anfield followed, with Balotelli scoring just four goals in 28 games for the Reds – one of them in the Premier League.
The 36-time Italy international spent three years at French club Nice from 2016, after returning to AC Milan on loan for a season.
Since then, Balotelli has not stayed at one club for more than one season, with stints in Ligue 1, Serie A, Switzerland and Turkey.
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Mario Balotelli joins the 14th new club
2006 – Lumezzane
2007-2010 – Inter Milan
2010-2013 Manchester City
2013-2014 AC Milan
2014-2016 Liverpool
2015–2016 → AC Milan (loan)
2016-2019 Nice
2019 Marseilles
2019-2020 Brescia
2020-2021 Monza
2021-2022 Adana Demirspor
2022-2023 Sion
2023-2024 Adana Demirspor
2024-2025 Genoa
2026 – Al Ittifaq
Balotelli is “thinking” about becoming a coach
“I think about it as I get older,” Balotelli told reporters on Saturday before flying to Dubai to join his new team.
“But what if I found someone else with the same personality? What would I do next?”
On Al-Ittifaq, Balotelli added: “It is a beautiful project.
“It’s hot there, it’s cold here, so I can’t wait to get there. I’m even stronger than the others.
“There were a few calls from Italy. We tried to negotiate but I wasn’t willing.
“I think football has changed; there are other players and it’s right to make room for them. I’m 35.”