Mario Balotelli

Mario Balotelli was born in 1990 in Palermo Italy. His parents were immigrants from Ghana.

Due to suffering health problems at a young age, and his family being unable to cope, Balotelli was fostered into an Italian family at the age of three.

He went on to sign for Lumezzane's youth team, his first step to becoming a professional footballer. Since then he has played for three of the biggest teams in Europe with Inter Milan, Manchester City, and AC Milan all securing his services. He also represented Italy at Euro 2012.

Balotelli made his debut for Lumezzane when he was just 15. That came in a Serie C league game against Padova on April 2nd, 2006.
The Italian striker was signed by Inter Milan later that year. Initially it was a loan deal where Inter paid €150,000 to co-own the player. In 2007, the Serie A club paid a further €190,000 to sign him outright.

Balotelli was part of the Inter side which won the Scudetto in the 2007-2008 season. His team won the league title in the next two campaigns in what proved to be a successful period for the club. The youngster also got his hands on the Supercoppa Italiana in 2008.

The 2009-2010 campaign ended up being his last with the Milan based club as he clashed with manager Jose Mourinho. That season proved to be the club's most successful in their history as they won the treble. Along with the Scudetto, they claimed the Coppa Italia and UEFA Champions League.

Former boss Roberto Mancini purchased Balotelli at Manchester City for a fee of €21.8million in 2010. It was his first taste of football outside of Italy and, although his time in England was blighted to an extent by disciplinary problems, he went on to spend four years playing in the Premier League.

In his opening season, he helped City win the FA Cup at Wembley, where they beat Stoke in the final. Balotelli was awarded the man of the match award for his performance in the game.

A year later, they won the Premier League title for the first time in the club's history in dramatic style. The Italian provided an assist for Sergio Aguero to score in the 94th minute of their final game of the season against QPR, which sealed the win and the points to hand them the title.

On January 29th, 2013, Balotelli moved back to Italy, signing for A.C Milan for €20million in a four and a half year deal.

For all the latest Mario Balotelli Betting Tips place check out betting.betfair