Nice striker Mario Balotelli’s next destination is unlikely to be Marseille after manager Rudi Garcia insisted his club were not seeking another forward.
Patrick Vieira has confirmed Balotelli is “unlikely” to remain with his Nice side having expressed his wish to leave following two years with the club, and the 28-year-old Italy international was left out their opening Ligue 1 game last weekend.
A move to Marseille has been mooted yet Garcia has poured cold water on that possibility by declaring his happiness with the club’s current strikers.
Asked about Balotelli at his media conference, Garcia said: “You talk about it, we do not especially inside the club. The priority is not a centre-forward.
“I am delighted. Valere [Germain] started very well. Kostas [Mitroglou] made a very good preparation when he arrived last summer on August 31 with a muscle injury.
“On last season, he has the best ratio of European goals scored [to] time spent on the field, or almost. I am satisfied with these two, there is no reason to go looking for others, no particular debate.”
Super Mario started his professional football career at Lumezzane and played for the first team twice before having an unsuccessful trial at Barcelona and subsequently joining Internazionale in 2007. Inter manager Roberto Mancini brought Balotelli into the first team, but when Mancini left, Balotelli’s disciplinary record fell away.
He had a strained relationship with new manager José Mourinho and was suspended from Inter’s first team in January 2009 after a number of disciplinary problems.
With doubts over his career at Inter, former coach Roberto Mancini had since moved to Manchester City and decided to give Balotelli a fresh chance at a new club. He joined Manchester City in August 2010, where his performances and off-field activities continued to be enigmatic and unpredictable.
Balotelli eventually fell out of favour with Mancini after a “training ground bust up” between the two in January 2013.
His departure from City and return to Italy with A.C. Milan followed several weeks later. After 18 months at Milan, he returned to the Premier League with Liverpool. An unsuccessful season with the Merseyside club led to his return to Milan on loan and subsequent departure on a free transfer to Nice.